The Importance of Family
by DragonGirl3412
Summary: Ice bear has always dealt with things by himself. He has two older brothers, but Ice has never looked towards them for support or strength. Ice is strong. But, when something starts to melt Ice's barriers, the brothers are thrown into a wild chaotic mess. Ice will have to realize one thing: there is more than one pillar that holds up a family. Rated T to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

**-Chapter One-**

 _Running, running, running_

 _I have to get away_

 _Can't stop, won't stop_

 _Have to keep running_

 _Laughter_ , _Screams, Cries_

 _Doesn't really matter what sounds are made_

 _All it matters is that I run_

 _Run, Run, Run_

 _Run,_ _ **Run...**_

 **RUN!**

* * *

Ice bear opened his eyes slowly, waking up from the strange dream. He got out of the fridge and looked up at the clock. It was 4:00 in the morning. Groaning irritably, Ice Bear forced himself to get up, his aching bones cracking a little as well. Not in the mood for sleep, he started walking around the cave, looking for anything he could do to pass the time. His brothers were surely asleep, it was, after all, very early. Ice bear always woke up early. Sighing, Ice bear walked out the door, knowing that he had to occupy his time somehow.

Once he was outside, Ice bear looked up at the sky. He allowed a tiny smile to reach his face. The sky was littered with stars tonight. Even though the Bears lived near a large city, they still lived in a pretty secluded part of the woods, allowing them to see some very beautiful stars in the night sky, in all of their glory. The other bears didn't know this, since Ice was pretty good at hiding his emotions, but sometimes, when Ice bear was by himself, seeing all of those pretty stars twinkling in the sky... Sometimes he wished he could fly. Fly high enough to touch one of those stars. Feel the wind blowing against his fur.

" _Freedom_ ," Ice thought. Don't get the wrong idea. Ice, though he never said it out loud, loved his brothers very much and was really happy with his life. However, with every perk comes a price. Ice occasionally felt lonely, like he was missing something. He felt very empty inside. Then again, Ice had never actually looked towards his older brothers for support or strength, relying only on himself to carry his own problems. Maybe that's why he felt so empty, Ice sometimes thought. But, as fast as the idea came to his head, Ice immediately pushed it away.

Ice bear didn't want to burden his brothers with his own problems. Ice believed that, if he was strong, he could deal with it on his own, like always. No need to tell his brothers, they wouldn't understand Ice anyway. Ice bear felt the emptiness return once again as he continued to gaze up at the stars, perfectly content with the solitude. This has become a regular thing for Ice bear. The nightmares, along with this unusual stargazing routine. Not that Ice was particularly scared of his nightmares, it just... _unsettled_ him a little.

After a few more hours of stargazing, even dozing off for one of those hours, Ice got up and started to walk back to the cave. " _Time to get the day started_ ," he thought wearily. *Snap* Ice turned around, hearing a twig break. Ice stared into the woods cautiously. He could have sworn that he saw a flash of light blue, before it went away, and left the dark colors of the forest. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously, his sleepiness replaced by awareness. But as the seconds turned into minutes, Ice continued his way into the cave, still on the alert.

When Ice entered, he allowed himself to relax. " _Probably just a squirrel or some large rodent,_ " Ice reasoned with himself, but he still couldn't shake the uneasiness he felt in the pit of his stomach, and Ice bear was never wrong about these things. " _Well, whatever it was, Ice bear will always protect his brothers. No one will ever hurt his family while Ice is around._ " What Ice didn't count on, was that his brothers weren't the ones that needed protecting this time.

As Ice continued his preparation for breakfast, he failed to notice a pair of glowing sapphire blue eyes staring at him through the window.

* * *

The creature stayed completely quiet as it saw the polar bear slowly make his way into the cave. When it was sure the bear was inside, the creature got out of its hiding place and smirked. " _He's much more perspective than his older brothers_ ," the creature mused in its head. The creature was, since there was no better words to put it, an **it**. It wasn't a girl or a boy, animal or human. It could be anything it ever wanted to be, and no one would ever notice it existed. That's what the creature wanted.

So why would a creature such as this one would have an interest in the Bears? The creature has asked itself the same question over and over again. It happened accidentally.

 _-Flashback-_

The creature made another kill, a human boy, for food. Reports have gone out through San Francisco, all about missing children, adults, women, men, anyone you could think of. None of them were related. Yet, all were found in a similar fashion: torn up, stomachs ripped open, limbs spread apart from their bodies. " Another crazy serial killer" or " just some wild animal" was the excuse people said to calm their fears.

The creature made sure to be careful with this particular kill. It was a young boy of the age of 12. Black hair, hazel eyes, kind of pudgy, short, and he just happened to be the son of a very important celebrity. Just when the creature was about to dine, it heard voices coming from the east of him. "Hey Grizz? Are you sure you're not lost?" one voice asked. It had an insecure tone to it. The body that was attached to that voice must be an awkward individual. "Sure I know where we're going, lil bro! We're... umm, well?" this voice was older sounding. It was more gruff, loud, and obnoxious.

The creature felt itself turn its attention back to its feast, not caring about who or what the voices were. Then, the shuffling grew louder and louder. Knowing that it would get caught if it didn't act fast enough, the creature hid its kill and transformed into a bird. It decided to wait and see who were the bodies connected to the voices were. Who knows? If they looked delicious enough, maybe he could have an even larger feast.

Licking its lips, or in this case beak at the idea, the creature turned its attention back towards the ground. What appeared through the bushes were two bears, a panda and a grizzly. They appeared to be looking for someone, since they started calling " Brother" or " Little Bro". " _So there's a third individual with them_ ," It thought, feeling a grin grow on its face. The creature looked around the perimeter, trying to spot what, the creature guessed, the third bear looked like. It frowned, not spotting the bear anywhere. Suddenly, it heard bushes shuffling around, and the simultaneous calls of "Brother" reached its ears. The creature snapped its head back down and saw a young polar bear.

The bear was both leaner and taller than the two other bears. " _So, I guess he's the youngest_ ," the creature thought. There was something about this bear that the creature found... interesting. The creature felt attracted to the polar bear, and for once in its life, it didn't feel all that hungry anymore. " Ice bear needed to find his ax," a voice stated. The creature realized that it was the young polar bear talking. His voice was interesting to say the least. It was monotone, it was dull, but it was also smooth, calm, quiet... soothing almost. " _So, the bear's name is Ice... just like his voice_ ," the creature mused in its head. Smirking slightly, the creature decided to let the Bears live... just because Ice's voice wasn't annoying like his two older brothers.

 _-End of Flashback-_

Since that day, the creature spied on the Bears frequently, or more precisely, it spied on Ice bear more frequently. The creature felt a growing obsession for the bear as the days rolled on. It learned that the bear was bilingual, and that he loved dancing, cooking, and martial arts. Oh, how that bear was full of surprises. The creature even watched Ice sleep one time. The creature had to be quiet when sneaking into the very large fridge. It was only once though. Since the polar bear slept in a fridge, he was kind of hard to spy on. Even so, that was the only time it saw Ice look so... vulnerable, cute. He actually looked like the youngest bear. And what made Ice look even more adorable, was that on that particular night, he was having another nightmare.

The creature thought Ice was absolutely adorable when he was having a nightmare. Ice's face would scrunch up cutely and he would start making whimpering sounds in his sleep. But then, the bear started thrashing violently, and his face scrunched up even more. The creature felt a pang of surprise when it saw the young bear looking so pained. Hesitantly, the creature allowed its spidery long hand to reach out and pet Ice bear's fur. It was soft and plush, unlike the stoic bear the creature came to know. It buried its hands deeper into his fur, lost in thought, while the bear stopped thrashing and fell into a deeper sleep.

The creature stayed like this for a while, even lifting the bear's head on to its lap to continue petting him. The creature, not liking the idea of being shorter than Ice for some reason, took the form of a really tall and thin woman (in order to fit inside of the fridge) in her late thirties. The creature felt a genuine smile reach its lips as it saw the bear smile happily in his sleep. It was a small smile, but it was a adorable nonetheless. Finally, opening the fridge door to let itself out, the creature saw the sun slowly starting to ascend into the air, queuing the creature that it was time to go.

Once outside and into the safety of the woods, the creature looked back and saw the bear get up and continue his day. Cleaning, cooking, and taking care of his brothers. Sometimes the creature couldn't believe that Ice was the youngest brother.

As the minutes turned into hours, the creature continued to spy on the bear, pondering why? Why was it so drawn to one bear? Why? An idea went through the creature's head. Ice was usually by himself, alone. It would be easy to _eat_ him. The creature shook its head at the thought, it didn't feel hungry when it thought about Ice. It wanted Ice for... companionship, it guessed. Someone to talk to. Someone it could feel comfortable with.

Besides, Ice could fight, cook, and speak multiple languages. He could also be a valuable asset for its... _Plans_. But knowing Ice bear, he could be painfully stubborn. He needed some... persuasion. The creature chuckled a little as it continued walking through the woods.

The creature knew that Ice desired freedom, so... Why not simply "free" Ice bear from the nuisances he called " brothers." The creature started to scheme, planning on how to trap Ice bear. After all, these types of plans needed patience. It might take a few days to make everything perfect; flawless.

Yet, the creature couldn't wait to begin.

* * *

 _-Five days later-_

*knock* *knock* " Who's knocking?" Grizz pondered out loud. It was late at night, 8:00 to be exact, and it wasn't like the Bears got any visitors anyway, other than Chloe and Charlie. All the Bears were just done with their dinner, so the two other bears heard the knocking as well.

" Maybe it's Chloe, sometimes she visits late," Panda said, not taking his eyes off of his phone while Ice bear cleared their plates. " Yeah, but doesn't she usually call?" Grizz asked. Panda paused in his texting and looked up at Grizz. " ... Well, yeah, but who else would visit us. Charlie never knocks, he just breaks in through the windows," " Should we answer it?" " Grizz, what if it's someone dangerous?" " Ice bear says we should just leave it alone." After a few minutes of arguing, the bears were once again interrupted by more knocking, the knocking being more frantic this time.

" Okay, okay. I'll open the door. If it's someone bad... then Panda, karate chop them," Grizz said, " Wait, WHAT!?" Panda exclaimed. Before the two younger brothers could protest, Grizz already made his way towards the door and opened it slightly, just enough to see who was outside. It was a young man in his late 20's, about Grizz's age. He had blond hair with purple and red dye on his bangs. He was pretty tall for a person, being about 6'4. He was pretty normal looking, only wearing a brown hoodie, a pair of faded jeans, and green sneakers. However, the man looked worried, afraid even.

Grizz tentatively widened the already opened door to asked," Umm, can I help you, sir?" " Yes, can I stay here for the night? I'm lost and it's about to rain." " Sir, your a stranger, and I don't know you. Besides, there's nothing to worry about, it's not gonna-" Just as Grizz was about to the man that it wasn't going to rain, it immediately started raining. Grizz looked up at the sky in confusion. " _That's weird, the sky was clear a few moments ago_ ," he thought. Grizz turned back to the man and sighed. The man started shivering in the rain, sniffling a little. Grizz, seeing such a miserable look on the man's face, gave him a small smile and said," Come on in, sir. We have plenty of room in our cave!" The man smiled gratefully and said," Thank you." Grizz smile widened as he led the man inside of the house. " No problem, man!"

* * *

" You're gonna love my little bro's cooking, I swear that he's probably the best in the world!" " I can't wait," the man replied with a small smile on his face. Panda nervously shifted in his seat, staring at the man in front of him. The man didn't really pay any attention to Panda, since he was mostly listening to Grizz chatter on and on about him, Ice, and Grizz himself.

Panda had a bad feeling about this man and wondered if Ice and Grizz felt it too. The man, though he seemed pretty normal and calm, also seemed _too_ normal. It was almost like the man was putting on a mask. Panda cleared his throat, and the man turned his attention on Panda. " Through all of the commotion, you never mentioned your name," Panda said, with a small polite smile.

" Oh, my name is Theodore Park, but you can call me Theo," Theo said, lifting up his hand to shake Panda's paw. " _Firm grip_ ," was what came into Panda's mind as Theo squeezed Panda's paw almost in a painful matter. Once Theo let go, Panda started rubbing his very sore paw. Now that they were inside, Panda noticed a few things about Theo. He was a pretty lengthy individual, but he wasn't a string bean. He had some muscle, note the strong grip, but he wasn't ripped. Theo looked like a normal human man.

" _Well, the only thing that would be unusual about this man would be his eyes_ ," Panda thought. It's true. The man had a very unusual pair of blue eyes. His eyes were a really dark blue, but they had really light hues of blue in the center of his eyes, making them pop out even more. " _Like sapphires_ ," Panda awed in his head. As Panda continued to silently stare at the man, he noticed that Theo sometimes shifted his gaze from Grizz to another location. Confused, Panda followed Theo's gaze and saw what he was staring at. Surprisingly, what Panda saw was just Ice cooking.

Ice was always creative when he was cooking something. Like usual, Ice held his stoic composure, but he seemed to almost glow in happiness when he was cooking, adding spices or different types of vegetables when needed. Panda felt a pang of worry when he saw Theo staring at Ice, his older brother protective instincts flaring a little. Panda knew that Ice could take care of himself just fine, but still... there was just something wrong with this picture.

" _Should I tell Grizz? I mean, this is a very important topic here. I really don't think this man... Theo should stay with us_ ," Panda thought. He continued to ponder as Ice laid down some food for Theo. It was lobster bisque. As usual, the lobster was cooked to perfection, with creamy soup base around it. " Enjoy," Ice bear said quietly. " Thank you! You know, Grizz is absolutely right! You are a wonderful cook! This looks absolutely delicious!" Theo gushed out in a sickly sweet way. Ice bear nodded stiffly as he sat down next to panda. He started to slowly scoot towards his older brother... and as far away from Theo as possible.

Theo got up, with his plate, to get some napkins and a glass of pulp free OJ... just to then sit down in a vacant seat next to Ice bear. Ice sulked a little bit in his seat, but was polite nonetheless. " _Did Ice notice Theo's staring as well_? _Well, Ice is more perspective than me, so I guess that makes sense,_ " Panda thought. " So, Theo, how did you get lost in the first place," Grizz asked, breaking the awkward silence.

" I was looking for a national park that was close to this forest, but then I got to a certain part to the woods that I didn't recognize. I started walking back, but then I got more lost. It was getting late, so I started looking for shelter. Then, I stumbled across your cave," Theo said. " Well, why didn't you use a phone or a GPS? If you're going hiking or walking in an unknown area, you should have one," Panda stated. " I did have a phone, but I must have lost it while I was walking."

" Well, what's important is that you now have a place to stay. What about this, we can help you find your phone tomorrow," Grizz said suggestively. " Grizz-" " You would really help me?" Theo asked, smiling widely. Grizz ignored both of his brothers and answered," Sure, why not?" Panda, along with Ice bear, sulked deeper into their seats as Theo thanked Grizz and made sure to repeatedly compliment Ice bear, saying that he made delicious food. " _This'll be a long night_ ," Panda and Ice simultaneously thought sadly.

* * *

" Grizz, I need to talk to you, it's important." After dinner, Panda decided to talk to Grizz _privately_. Ice bear needed to wash the dishes and Theo (unfortunately) volunteered to help, in order to pay for the meal. "What's wrong, Pan-Pan?" Grizz asked while playing his video game. Panda waited for him to finish the level, wanting Grizz's full attention. Once Grizz paused the game, he turned towards panda, waiting for him to continue.

Panda sat down and started the must needed discussion. " I'm going to cut to the point, I don't like Theo." " What? Why not?" " He not only creeps me out, but he creeps our little brother out as well." Grizz just shook his head," You two are just being paranoid. The guy seems fine in my books." Before he could start his game again, Panda interrupted him once more. " He keeps stealing glances with our brother and if that's not creepy in 'your books', then you need to update it." Grizz's facial expression suddenly turned from confusion to surprise shock. " What? He kept-" " Yes, and I'm worried Grizz! I'm worried for our brother!"

Grizz pondered for a moment, then replied," What if it was just harmless staring? I mean, you've got to admit, Bro is an awesome cook, maybe Theo was just amazed?" " I don't know Grizz, I just have a bad feeling about this guy. It seems like he's trying hard to get very buddy-buddy with our little brother. " " Okay, if you really feel that uncomfortable being around Theo, we can just try to cut ties with him _after_ we help him find his phone. He is leaving tomorrow anyway." " What if he continues to talk to or visit us?" " We'll only help him if he needs us and that's it. No friendship, just acquaintances."

Panda groaned angrily. He honestly didn't like that answer, and Grizz knew it. " Look, we can't really do anything if he hasn't done anything bad to us. It will just be plain rude if we keep rejecting him for no reason." " Yeah, your right." " If there's anything you need, you know where I am," Grizz said. Before Panda could say anything, Grizz returned to his game. Panda sighed dejectedly before he turned around and headed towards his room. If this guy really was bad, Panda assumed that he wouldn't try anything while all of them were in the same house, even if he was with Ice.

* * *

" _Is Panda right? Now that he mentioned it, the man was staring at Ice, only for a few seconds. He even moved his seat so he could sit next to him. But, that's no reason to be so jumpy._ " While Grizz played his game, he continued to think about Panda's words. As the eldest brother, it was only natural for him to worry for both of his brothers. He never actually had to worry about his youngest brother, since he never really needed any protection.

Ice wasn't sensitive like Panda, nor did he crave for attention like Grizz. In fact, Grizz often wondered if Ice preferred to be alone. Grizz, even though he didn't see anything wrong with Theo, trusted both of his brothers. They would have to be cautious around Theo for now on. Hopefully everything would turn out okay in the end. Hopefully.

* * *

" Do you enjoy doing chores for your brothers? I mean, I get that you're good at cooking and cleaning, but I think your brothers should appreciate you more," Theo said. Since Theo wanted to help Ice bear wash the dishes, Ice gave him the job of drying while Ice cleaned the dishes. " Ice bear likes cooking for his family. He also likes cleaning," Ice said gruffly as he continued washing the dishes.

" Not really a talkative bear, are you?" Theo asked, amusement lacing his voice. Ice bear narrowed his eyes slightly at Theo's tone, but didn't reply. " Well, that's okay. I like silence as well." " _Then why are you still talking_?" Ice thought irritably. They continued washing the dishes in uncomfortable silence. Well, uncomfortable for Ice at least, since he kept feeling Theo's eyes burning into his side. " Why are you staring at Ice bear?" Ice asked. "I've never seen a polar bear up close before." " Ice bear assumes that you _have_ seen Grizzlies and Pandas up close before."

Theo simply laughed a little. " No, it's not like that. I just think you're an interesting individual, that's all. If you don't like my staring, I could stop." " Ice bear would appreciate that." Theo simply smirked and shrugged his shoulders, irritating Ice even more. Finally, they were done with the dishes. Ice sighed in relief. He looked at the time and saw that it was already 11:00 pm.

Ice was about to enter the fridge when Theo (oh my god) interrupted him once again. " Why do you sleep in a fridge?" " Ice bear wonders why you ask so many questions." " Last time I checked, not a lot of people sleep in a fridge."

Before Ice could retort, thankfully, Grizz entered the kitchen. " Hey man. The bed's made up and everything. I can lead you to the room." Theo's smug smirk melted into a sweet smile so quickly, that Ice almost felt scared that a human could change moods that fast. " Thanks again Grizz for letting me stay." " No problem man, now come on." Grizz turned towards Ice. "Night bro." Then he left.

Theo turned towards Ice bear, his smirk back on his face. " Goodnight, Ice Bear." As Theo turned and left the room, he made one final comment. "Hope you don't have any nightmares!" When Ice was sure Theo was gone, Ice turned towards the table and sat down, sulking deeply into the chair and rubbing his temples tiredly.

For once in his life, Ice felt a twinge of fear. This guy, Theo... why was he staring at him? Why was he so... so creepy? Ice bear sighed and got up from his seat. He went inside the fridge and closed the door. " _Hope you don't have any nightmares!_ " The way Theo said it was almost in a mocking tone. He said it in such a sickly sweet way that made Ice bear want to vomit. But, the thing that unsettled Ice the most was Theo's eyes.

" _I could have sworn that I saw a familiar shade of blue when I went outside at night a couple days ago_ ," Ice thought. Ice, however, didn't evaluate on this matter anymore, for he slowly drifted into a dreamless sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**-Chapter Two-**

 _Nothing ever lasts forever… not even the things you protect with your heart_

 _" Now, are you sure you can carry both of us?" Grizz asked. Ice simply gave a strained grunt as he continued walking. Ice was a strong bear. He could carry heavier things for miles without getting tired. However, carrying two grown bears_ _ **on your back**_ _is another thing. Ice continued to walk through the forest, trying to ignore the two large weights on his back. Sadly, it wasn't working as well as he hoped.  
_

 _Grizz, being the protective eldest brother that he was, invented the bear stack so the bears could travel together in a group. So this way, it was impossible for the bears to get separated. However, since the bears were stacked, one bear had to carry two of the bears around and do all of the walking. Grizz wanted to be the bottom bear, but Panda suggested that they transition when the bottom bear got tired.  
_

 _This would have been a good plan... if it wasn't for the fact that both Grizz and Panda got tired really easily. That left Ice to be the bottom bear. Both Panda and Grizz objected immediately, but Ice insisted. So, here they were now, taking a small stroll through the woods with Grizz on top, Panda in the middle, and Ice at the bottom. Ice took another deep breath and paused in his walking.  
_

 _Grizz noticed this and jumped off Panda's back. " We can stop here for now," he said. Panda nodded and hopped down Ice's back. Ice gave a small sigh in relief and allowed himself to fall down into the soft grass. He rolled onto his back and looked up at the sky. It was a beautiful summer day in San Francisco. A light spring breeze blew through the flowers next to Ice bear. The sky was a nice light blue and it was filled with a few wispy clouds as well. Ice allowed a ghost of a smile to graze his face as he closed his eyes.  
_

 _" Hey, that kind of looks like a heart", a voice stated. Ice opened his eyes and turned his head. Grizz was laying on the right of Ice, while Panda laid on his left. Ice turned his attention back to the sky. The cloud indeed looked like a heart. " Now it looks like a rabbit," Panda said. As Panda and Grizz continued to call out different cloud shapes, Ice suddenly felt extremely tired. Ice tried to keep his eyes open, but for some reason, he couldn't.  
_

 _" Too tired... fight... eyes open.. so sleepy," was all Ice thought before his world faded back into darkness._

* * *

 _When Ice reopened his eyes again, he was surprised to find himself in a dark cave. It was nothing like the cave he called home. It was a huge cave, completely barren of life. Ice gulped as he started walking deeper and deeper into the intimidating cave. *drip* *drip* *drip* went the water. The sound echoed through the large cave, making the air rise with tension._ _  
_

 _Ice felt lost and confused. But most of all... Ice was scared. Where are his older brothers? Are they okay? What happened? Ice continued to look frantically around the cave, trying to find something, anything that would lead him to his brothers. His search, sadly, ended in vain. Ice bear contemplated on just sitting on the ground, waiting for someone to save him. At least that idea would save his strength.  
_

 _" No, that would do nothing. I can't just sit around all day. What if my brothers need saving? What is they're in trouble? I have to help them." With a new idea in motion, Ice continued walking.  
_

 _It might have been hours, Ice lost track of time, but he finally found something. It wasn't a sight that Ice wanted to see. Blood. Blood was all over the cave walls. It was like someone painted the cave with the sticky substance. At first, Ice bear prayed that it was just red paint. His prayers weren't answer, when the smell of copper filled Ice's nostrils quickly. A trademark smell of blood.  
_

 _Ice felt disgust rise in the pits of his stomach. The feeling to vomit was almost unbearable. Not wanting to make an even bigger mess of the cave and to save his dignity, Ice bear covered his nose. This didn't stop the scent of blood from breaching Ice's nose, but the smell was a little bit bearable now. Ice continued to trudge through the cave. Ice wanted to leave, but he knew that his brothers might be in this cave. Even if Ice reaches the end of this cave and finds something horrible, Ice needed to make sure that his brothers weren't here. He had to make sure.  
_

 _Finally, Ice reached the end of the cave. Ice gave a sigh of relief, thankful that he didn't find his brothers in a bloody mess. Even though Ice still needed to look for his brothers, it was better for his brothers to be lost than dead. " W-what a-are y-y-you d-d-doing h-here?" a small, timid voice asked behind Ice bear. Ice turned around to face that person, only to find a young girl standing a few feet behind him.  
_

 _The girl was covered in bruises, scratches, and scars. She had deep dark bags under her eyes, due to lack of sleep. She was so gaunt and frail to the point that Ice feared that a small breeze would make this girl fall apart. She had long brown hair that reached the floor, but it was very thin and she didn't have a lot of hair anyway. What would have been bright emerald gems were now dulled fearful green eyes. This girl was the very picture of sickness and misery. This girl was just a mere shell of a person. When Ice looked into her eyes, all he saw was fear and despair.  
_

 _" And she's no older than Chloe," Ice thought sadly. The girl once again looked desperately at Ice. " Y-you can't b-b-be here. Y-you need to l-l-eave, now," she said urgently. Suddenly, a voice echoed the halls._

Where are you, my prey

 _Come out, come out_

 _ **Wherever you are**_

 _The voice itself was scary and sinister enough, but it was everywhere. Like the blood that dripped from the cave walls and ceiling, the voice continued its mockery, repeating the words over and over and over again like a broken radio. Ice, by now, was beyond terrified. He didn't know where to go. Should he run forward? Should he stay behind and protect this girl? Should he curl into a small ball and beg for mercy? What should he do?  
_

 _" R-run," the girl whispered. Ice was about to protest before the girl weakly pushed him forward. " R-run, d-d-on't worry about m-me. I-it won't h-harm m-m-me, y-yet," the girl repeated, this time, her voice getting a little louder. So, that's exactly what Ice did. He ran.  
_

 _Running, running, running_

 _" Where do I go?" Ice thought frantically, avoiding a bunch of rocks along his path to avoid tripping. " Where are my brothers? Did they... Did they leave me?! They wouldn't do that!"_

 _I have to get away_

 _Can't stop, won't stop_

 _Have to keep running_

" Panda, Grizz, where are you?! I need you! Oh god, I'm so scared, so very scared," Ice sobbed in his head as he continued running. His breathing now labored as he continued to run from his invisible enemy.

 _Laughter, Screams, Cries_

 _Doesn't really matter what sounds are made_

 _All it matters is that I run_

While Ice was preoccupied by his terrified thoughts, he failed to notice a large rock in front of him. He tripped and tumbled forward. Ice landed on his leg, effectively twisting it.

 _Run, Run, Run_

Ice turned around frantically just to see a large blurred figure running towards him at lightning speed.

Run,

 _ **Run**_ _..._

Before Ice could cover his eyes in fear, he caught a glimpse of a crazed fanged smirk along with mischievous sapphire blue eyes.

 _ **RUN!**_

And all Ice could do was scream.

* * *

Unlike last time whereas Ice simply opened his eyes calmly to exit his nightmare, Ice snapped open his eyes in a desperate attempt to exit his nightmare. He started breathing frantically, trying to reclaim his breath once again. Ice placed his paw on his chest in an attempt to calm his frantically beating heart. He was sure that it was beating so loud that his brothers could surely hear it.

As the minutes rolled on, his heart beat went back down to a steady rate and Ice bear was able to control his breathing once again. Shakily, Ice exited the fridge and walked towards the kitchen sink to get a nice cool glass of water. With trembling paws, he opened the cabinet to get a small glass. He turned the faucet on and held the glass underneath it. Water pooled into the glass.

Once Ice got his water, he turned towards the table and slowly sat down. Taking a small sip, Ice turned his head towards the clock. This time it was just 6:00 in the morning. "Better than last time," Ice thought bitterly as he took another sip of water. Ice sat back against his chair and took another deep breath. The nightmare was worse than last night.

Though Ice tried not to feel this way, Ice couldn't help but feel betrayed by his brothers. He knew that it was only a nightmare, and that Panda and Grizz would never abandon him in a place like that, but... still... Where were they when Ice needed them the most? Ice wanted to go to his brothers and talk to them about his nightmares. It was a very reasonable thing to do. After all, it was probably best that Ice didn't keep all of the pent up stress inside of him.

However, the more Ice tried to reason with himself that it was a good idea to tell his brothers, the more his pride seemed to convince him otherwise. " _Just like a small toddler crying to their mommy_." Ice groaned irritably and gently banged his head against the table. How could this day get any worse? " _Oh yeah, today we're helping Theo find his phone_ ," he thought sadly.

If you haven't guessed it yet, Ice bear loathed Theo. Some people would scold at Ice's behavior. Some people would say," You just met the guy. Give him a chance! Maybe you two could be great friends!" But Ice knew better than to trust a human like Theo. Theo was the type of person that Ice could never get along with. Ice bear didn't like Charlie that much.

He was sloppy, disorganized, and overall overbearing. However, Ice could still tolerate Charlie and still saw him as a good friend. At least Charlie was a good hearted individual that was honest, hardworking, and compassionate. Even Ice had to admit that much.

However, Theo wasn't anything like that. Ice wouldn't care if Theo was the neatest, smartest, or most powerful being in the world. That would never change who Theo is. Theo was a snake, and Ice bear hated snakes. Like a snake shedding its skin, Theo seemed to change personalities, to change who he was, in order to get what he wanted. That kind of person always scared Ice bear.

Why? Well, think of it this way: If a person kept changing their identity, kept changing themselves to fit in, kept hiding their true nature to slither their way into someone's heart, then what was that person like before the lying began? That person wouldn't exist anymore. It scared Ice bear that people were willing to let go of themselves in order to just simply fit in or get what they want. Was it worth it? Ice just couldn't understand.

Even though Ice didn't know Theo that well, he still trusted his gut. " _Stay away from Theo. Ignore him, push him away, do anything you can, but don't let him get close to you_ ," it screamed. " _Never trust a snake_ ," Ice thought. Ice looked at his now empty glass. Getting up, Ice once again made his way towards the faucet. " Hey, couldn't sleep either huh?" a voice asked.

" _Speak of the devil and he shall appear_ ," Ice thought. Turning his attention towards the human leaning casually against the door frame, Ice took his seat, staring at the man cautiously. Theo walked towards Ice and sat down next to him. Ice looked into his eyes and looked away immediately. Theo's eyes were blue. Like in his nightmare. " Wow, you really don't like me, do you?" Theo asked with a small smirk.

" Ice bear doesn't like you... at all." " You're a blunt individual." " Ice bear doesn't see a problem with that." " You could hurt my feelings." " Ice bear doubts that." Theo chuckled a little and sighed. " Well, this has been officially the longest conversation I've had with you." Ice glared at Theo coldly before turning his gaze back to his water. Theo smiled and said," No need to be so cold, kid." " You're not that much older than Ice bear." " Let's see, I'm 29, how old are you?" "... 20," Ice said in defeat.

"I see. How old are your brothers?" " Why do you wish to know?" "Just curious." "... Panda is 24 while Grizz is 27." " You really are the baby of the family!" Theo gushed out. Ice bear held back the wanting to roll his eyes. Ice got up and headed towards the fridge. " Hey, where are you going?" Theo asked. " Ice bear will go back to sleep now." "By the way, why were you up, Icy?"

Ice bear cringed at the horrible nickname and turned at Theo. He walked around the table so he could face Ice bear directly. Since Ice was a bear and Theo a person, Ice still had to look down in order to maintain eye contact with Theo. But, Theo was a pretty tall person, so Ice didn't have to look that far down in order to stare at him. " Ice bear doesn't feel like he should tell you." " It was a nightmare, was it?" Ice bear simply ignored him and was about to enter the fridge. Then, a hand wrapped around his arm and stopped him from going any further.

Ice froze when he felt the hand. It was so, so cold. Even though Ice slept in a fridge, Ice still was a warm bear. The fridge provided Ice bear with a comfortable cool that helped him sleep. This cold almost burned his arm. Startled, Ice bear tried to jerk his arm away from the burning cold hand, but it held firm. Theo simply stood there as he continued to hold Ice bear's arm in a forceful manner.

" If you're scared, you can just talk to me about it, alright?" Theo asked with a large smile. His voice was friendly, but it was a mocking friendly. It was a threatening friendly. Before Ice could protest, he felt the hand squeeze tighter around his arm. Wincing a little, Ice turned his attention back to Theo, trying his hardest not to punch that arrogant snot in the face.

" _I can't make a commotion, it'll wake my brothers_." Hesitantly, Ice nodded his head. Theo, seemingly pleased with this answer, released Ice's arm. Ice pulled his arm away from the freezing cold hand. Theo backed away, his smirk still on his face. " Goodnight, Icy-" " Please don't call Ice bear that." Theo merely shrugged his shoulders and left. Taking a shaky breath, Ice bear turned towards his fridge, planning on falling asleep. Sadly, not all plans go your way, for Ice bear stayed awake for the remainder of the night, rubbing his arm in a desperate attempt to warm it up and forget about that terrible feeling of Theo's cold hand.

Unknown to both Ice bear and (luckily) Theo, Panda and Grizz saw the whole thing. Panda, feeling hungry, wanted to sneak into the kitchen, quietly opened the fridge (careful not to wake Ice bear), get a pudding pop, then get back into his room. Before he could make it into the kitchen, he saw Ice sitting down drinking some water... with Theo sitting right next to him.

Panda usually didn't like eavesdropping, but he felt like this time, it was totally justified. " Wow, you really don't like me, don't you?" " Ice bear doesn't like you... at all." Panda stifled a snicker, hearing how blunt his little brother was. " Hey Panda, what's going on? I heard talking, so I got up and-" a voice asked. " Shh, Grizz, I'm trying to listen." Grizz, now curious, listened in on the conversation.

" No need to be so cold, kid." " You're not that much older than Ice bear." " Let's see, I'm 29, how old are you?" " Jeez, he's old," Grizz said out loud. Panda merely nodded his head in agreement. In all honesty, they didn't think that Theo was that old. He looked younger than that. " How old are your brothers?" " Why do you wish to know?" Just curious." "... Panda is 24 while Grizz is 27." "You really are the baby of the family!" Both Panda and Grizz winced at Theo's tone. It was so, so... sweet. And not the good kind of sweet either.

Both Grizz and Panda saw Ice get up with Theo in pursuit. " Hey, where are you going?" "Ice bear will go back to sleep now." " By the way, why were you up, Icy." Both brothers listened closely. They were concerned. They wanted to know why Ice was up as well. They saw Ice cringe as he turned around to face Theo. " Ice bear doesn't feel like he should tell you." "It was a nightmare, was it?" The brothers felt their stomachs drop at what Theo said. Was their brother... in pain? Was their brother scared? Why didn't he tell him?

" Grizz, if he's scared of something, he would tell us... Would he?" " I don't know Pan-Pan, little bro always did handle things by himself." They turned back towards the two, but what they saw made Panda and Grizz freeze with both surprise and anger. Ice's arm was held by Theo. They saw the uncomfortable look on Ice's face and the tugging of his arm, but Theo refused to let go, even squeezing the arm even tighter. What made the two older brothers so angry was the fright in Ice's eyes. They saw how scared and uncomfortable Ice felt. And that made their blood boil.

Before Grizz could storm through the kitchen and give Theo a piece of his mind, Panda hesitantly held him back. " If you're scared, you can talk to me about it, alright," Theo said with a sickly sweet smile. They saw Ice shakily nod his head, and Theo let go. They saw Ice pull his arm back towards himself, rubbing a little. " Goodnight, Icy-" " Don't call Ice bear that," Ice bear said quietly. Theo shrugged and walked away. Luckily for the two bears that were hiding, Theo exited the hall that was the opposite direction from Panda's and Grizz's hall. Finally, Ice entered his fridge, still shaking from what happened.

Grizz turned towards Panda and asked," Why did you stop me? That jerk shouldn't be picking on him." " Grizz, I think it would be best if we waited for tomorrow to confront him about it. Then, we can talk to our little brother about the nightmares, if they are, as Theo says, real." Grizz sighed and nodded his head. " Sorry for not believing you in the first place about Theo. Man, that guy's a freak." " It's okay Grizz, it's fine now." Both brothers shared a smile, and they walked towards the fridge. They thought about opening the fridge door to talk to their brother, but they thought it would be better if they waited for morning.

And with that, both brothers took a seat at the table and waited for Ice to get out of the fridge. They weren't really tired anyway.


	3. Chapter 3

**-Chapter Three-**

 _How can you protect the ones you love, if you can't even protect yourself?_

When Ice bear got out of his fridge, he was surprised to see Panda and Grizz asleep at the breakfast table. Ice couldn't help but smile at the sight of his two older brothers sleeping. Sighing slightly, Ice went towards the closet to get his apron. Once he tied the ribbon, securing it on him, Ice walked towards the fridge to get a few ingredients for breakfast.

As Ice prepared the food, he couldn't help but rub his arm gently as he cut Grizz's bacon into little pieces. Theo's cold hand, the one that grabbed Ice's arm, still settled in Ice's brain, haunting him. " _No human hand could be that cold_ ," Ice bear thought. Ice unconsciously continued to rub his arm. He wanted to forget the feeling of that uncomfortable cold hand. He didn't want to see Theo anymore. He wanted the nightmares to stop.

Ice knew that he couldn't just wish for something, and then hope that it'll come true. He had to do something about Theo. Somehow, he'll get through this. Feeling somewhat less miserable, Ice turned his attention back to breakfast. Since Ice didn't feel all that hungry, he decided to only make food for Grizz, Panda, and Theo. For Grizz, Ice was thinking about making him a bacon and cheese stuffed potato with Chocolate Coconut Scones on the side and pulp free OJ for his drink.

For Panda, he thought it would be nice to make him a simple Sunday Vegetarian Strata with Vegan Lemon Poppy Scones on the side. Luckily, not only were these foods vegetarian, but they were nut free as well. For a drink, Ice wanted to make him something of his own creation: a Purple Monstrosity Fruit Smoothie. Since they had a lot of OJ, and the smoothie needed _**a lot**_ of it, Ice thought it would be a good idea to surprise Panda with it.

Finally, for Theo... Ice sighed and tried to think of a good meal for Theo. He couldn't make his food taste bad... sadly, but Ice didn't want to put too much effort into it. So, after a few more minutes of thinking, Ice decided to make Theo one of his simplest dishes, it was called Slow Cooker Apple Cinnamon Oats (yeah, long name) with a side of Bublik (a poppy seed bagel) on the side. Deciding that this was a good meal for both his brothers and for Theo, Ice bear started cooking.

Ice bear loved to cook. It was his passion. He began humming to himself as he began baking the potato, slicing the cheese, throwing some seasoning- " Hey, what song are you humming, Icy?" Aaaaaand it's over. Ice bear froze a little at hearing Theo's voice and that ridiculous nickname. Sighing, Ice turned around to face Theo. Theo was lounging in a chair, staring at Panda's and Grizz's sleeping forms.

" Well, they had a rough night," Theo said, poking Grizz's head harshly. Ice growled lowly, but said nothing else. Knowing that Theo wouldn't do anything, Ice turned back to his cooking, wanting ignore the creepy man behind him. " You know, it's rude to ignore people, and it's even more rude to not answer their questions. What song were you humming, _Ice bear?"_ Theo's tone turned from feigned warmth to icy cold in a second.

Ice turned his head to glare at Theo. Nobody spoke his name, especially not people that Ice bear didn't like. Theo matched Ice's glare easily. " _Is this guy bipolar or something... Maybe he's just crazy_ ," Ice thought. Ice really just wanted to make Theo disappeared. This sounded silly and childish, but Ice wished that he could just clap his paws together and make Theo vanish into thin air.

" _I've only known this guy for barely a day and I feel like he's already ruining my life_." Not wanting to cause a fight, or a giant stain on the floor of beaten Theo that Ice bear would eventually have to clean up, Ice answered Theo's question. " Ice bear was humming an ancient Japanese lullaby. It's one of Ice bear's favorites. Ice bear knew that song ever since he was little." "What's it called?" " The Red Birds." " Oh, I've heard of that song before. It's a beautiful song." Ice merely nodded his head in agreement and turned his attention back to his cooking.

He heard footsteps approach him. Theo slowly took one of Ice's cooking utensils from his paw and turned towards his unfinished food. Ice bear stared at Theo, confusion marring his features. " You seem tired, I can take over from here." Ice felt shocked at Theo's request, but then that slowly turned into indignation. Before Ice could snatch his spatula back, Theo looked up at him, his sapphire blue eyes glinting dangerously.

At first glance, you'd think that Ice bear's eye color was black, but you'd be wrong. Ice bear had a unique eye color. While both Ice's brothers had dark brown eyes, Ice had a pair of silver grey eyes. " _Like a storm_ ," Theo pondered in his head as he stared into Ice's eyes. " _Like my nightmare,"_ Ice thought as he stared into Theo's eyes. Suddenly, Ice felt a huge pang of pain hit his head. Ice groaned in pain and dropped his remaining utensil to rub his head, trying to get rid of the pounding headache. Slowly, Ice felt himself get so tired. He felt his eyesight swim and his vision blur. Ice felt so lightheaded.

Ice heard Theo say something, but it was really muffled. Feeling an arm snake around Ice's shoulders, Ice unconsciously leaned back into whoever was holding him. The thing allowed him to do so and started directing him towards the fridge. Slowly entering it, Ice relaxed and looked up at the blurry shape of the person who helped him. Before Ice fainted due to utter exhaustion, he saw the person smile a little, before closing the fridge, surrounding Ice in darkness. As well as darkening Ice's world.

* * *

" _What's that smell?_ " Grizz thought. Forcing his eyes to open, he saw that he was sitting at the table. Grizz turned his head towards Panda, tapping him awake. " Hey, Pandy, wake up." " Uhh, my head." Panda opened his eyes slowly, trying to blink away his sleepiness. Then, he started to sniff the air. " Hey, is little bro cooking?" " Nope, just good ole Theo." Both bears jumped at the voice. Due to fatigue, they didn't notice Theo standing in front of them. Instead of their brother cooking in front of them, it was, of course, Theo.

Grizz stood up in alarm. Where was their brother? " Where's our little brother?" Panda demanded angrily. Theo merely gestured towards the fridge, not taking his eyes off of the food he was making. Grizz walked up to the fridge and opened it slowly. Thankfully, Ice bear was sleeping peacefully, a blanket wrapped around his body tightly. " Icy was too tired to cook, so I directed him back into the fridge. I took over the cooking," Theo said.

Panda walked over to the fridge and sighed in relief. He brushed Ice's head a little and fixed the blanket so it would be more comfortable for him. Closing the door, Panda and Grizz turned towards Theo. Theo had a small smile on his face. This time, Panda noticed that his smile seemed almost genuine. Happy. Turning towards the table, Theo gently placed the plates of food on it and sat down. Hesitantly, the two brothers did the same.

" You know, your brother looks adorable when he's sleeping," Theo commented, breaking the silence. Grizz and Panda stopped eating and turned their attention towards the man sitting in front of them. Though Theo meant it as a compliment, he had a creepy edge in his voice that made the two older brothers' warning bells go off. Not wanting to be rude, Grizz replied," Umm, thank you. Uh, the food tastes great by the way. What kind of seasoning did you put?" " Oh, just some Italian spices. I made sure not to put any nuts in Panda's food."

" Umm, not to sound ungrateful or anything, but why are **you** cooking? Usually he's up by now," Panda asked. Theo merely shrugged and turned back towards his food. Feeling tension rise once again, Grizz cleared his throat awkwardly. " Hey, when you're done eating, we can go and look for your phone-" " Great idea! After we're done, I can wash the dishes. Once Icy wakes up, we can go and search for my phone."

Silence... Until Panda spoke up. " We were actually hoping to let him sleep and we will help you find your phone." Theo's blue eyes shone in irritation, but then he quickly covered it up. " I thought it would be a good idea to wait for Icy. My phone could be anywhere in the woods. With his help, it might help me get out of your hair faster." Panda turned towards Grizz slowly, silently asking him to not agree to Theo's terms. Grizz nodded towards Panda and turned to look at Theo. Grizz was planning on telling Theo no. Ice needed rest and they didn't need his help. " _Once we're done with finding Theo's phone, I think Panda and I should have a little talk with Ice bear about his nightmares_ ," Grizz thought.

Sadly, Grizz never got the chance to reject Theo's idea, since he was interrupted by the sound of the fridge door opening. " Oh, hey little bro! Glad your awake," Panda said, forcing a smile on his face. Ice stood in front of the fridge, rubbing his eyes tiredly before opening them. Ice's tired face turned into one of surprise after seeing three dirty plates on the table. "Since you were asleep, I decided to make the food for you. Think of it as a thank you gift for your gracious hospitality," Theo said sweetly. Ice still looked confused. " Hey, if you're still tired, you can go back to sleep," Grizz suggested. Ice merely shook his head and headed towards one of the plates.

" It's okay bro! I got it," Grizz exclaimed while snatching the plate from Ice's paw. " I can help too," Panda said, taking the remaining plates and walking towards the sink. Ice stared at them for a while before plopping down on a seat across from Theo. It didn't take long to wash the dishes, since there were only three dishes and three cups to wash anyway. After the two bears were done, they walked towards the table once again. " Well, come on! We have to find your phone don't we," Grizz said. " Yeah, you need to get home," Panda agreed.

Theo smiled back at the two and stood up. Ice was about to stand as well before he was stopped by Grizz. " Hey bro, I don't think you should come, I mean, you still look tired. Maybe you should stay here." Frowning a little, Ice shook his head stubbornly. " Ice bear is in perfect condition." " Yeah, but-" "Ice bear is fine." " But you were-" " Ice bear is fine." " But-" " Ice bear is going. And there's nothing you can do to stop Ice bear." Sighing in defeat, Grizz nodded his head solemnly before walking out the door with Panda in pursuit. Raising a brow at the two, Ice followed as well, along with Theo. " _I need to go with them, to protect them from Theo_ ," Ice thought as he walked out the door. " _We need to protect Ice from Theo_ ," Panda and Grizz thought simultaneously as they continued to walk out of the house and into the forest.

Each brother wanted to protect each other from the human named Theo. Each would do anything for each other. Maybe, just maybe, if they knew how powerful the "human" was, they would have doubled their defenses, they would have guarded themselves more.

Grizz made the mistake of letting Theo stay at their place for dinner, he made the mistake of letting Theo sleep in their cave, he made the mistake of offering Theo their assistance to find his phone, but his most recent mistake will cause both Grizz and Panda to lose the thing they cherish the most. Things will never be the same, just because the Bears underestimated their guest. " _Grizz shouldn't have let Panda eat the food I made_ ," was what Theo thought as he walked out of the cave. He stared at his prey in a way a cat would leer at a cornered mouse before devouring it. " This'll be easier than I thought," Theo said out loud, smirking almost sinisterly while staring at Ice bear.

" Did you say something, Theo?" Panda asked suspiciously. Allowing himself to grin at Panda, Theo replied with as much enthusiasm as he could muster. " With all of your help, finding my phone should be a sinch! Thank you again, Panda, for helping me." Panda merely shrugged and ran towards his brothers.

Smirking once again, Theo silently added," Because of you, I'll finally get what I want." Evil thoughts flew through Theo's mind as he ran a little to catch up to the Bears. Thoughts that only the craziest of people would think. But, Theo never thought that his mind was crazy. As he played through his sick imaginings once again, all Theo thought was," _What a beautiful day in the woods_."

* * *

" _Okay, did this guy just run around the forest blindly until he found our cave? Where the heck is his phone?!_ " Panda thought as he looked under another bush. A half an hour passed already, but no one could find Theo's phone. " Come on man! Do you even have the slightest idea where your phone is!" Grizz complained tiredly. " Yeah, my feet are hurting, and I checked my weather app. It's about to rain soon," Panda whined, pointing at the dark storm clouds forming above their heads. " Ice bear is getting frustrated," Ice bear said monotonously.

" Wait! Now I remember where it is!" Theo exclaimed. The Bears sighed in relief. Theo then broke the mood by pointing deeper into the forest. " I remember walking through this part of the forest before I dropped my phone! It must be in there. Come on guys! I'm sure that in a few minutes, we will find my phone!" The Bears looked past Theo to stare at the hoard of trees behind him. The area was dark and gloomy. There were spider webs everywhere, and it seemed that every tree was bare.

Grizz sighed sadly and began walking towards the trees before a white paw stopped him. " Ice bear believes that we shouldn't go in there." " It's not like we have a choice, little bro. Look, the sooner we find Theo's phone, the sooner we can go back home." Before Grizz could continue, he was once a again stopped by Ice. " Ice bear _strongly_ believes that we shouldn't go in there." " If you want to stay here, that's fine, but I'm going in," Grizz said, crossing his arms stubbornly.

Ice turned towards Panda. " It's better if we just hurry this up," Panda said. As the two brothers started walking towards the forest, Ice stayed behind, occasionally looking south, the direction their cave was in. Sighing, Ice started walking into the woods along with his brothers, a terrible feeling in his gut getting stronger with every step deeper into the intimidating forest.

The brothers, feeling extremely nervous, started to huddle together as they followed Theo, shivering slightly at all of the misshapen trees and dead plants. The air around them was thick and musty, the tension didn't help at all either. After a few more minutes of walking, Panda finally spotted something. " Hey Theo? I think I found your phone," Panda said while pointing to a rectangular object on the ground. Theo walked over to the phone and picked it up gently. He inspected it to see if it was broken. Apparently it wasn't, since Theo then gave the Bears a huge smile.

" I thank you for your assistance, Bears." The Bears sighed in relief, glad that the search was finally over. They turned around and started to walk back home... until a voice stopped them. " But, there's one more thing I would like for you to do," Theo said. All the Bears froze at Theo's tone. It was quiet and gentle, but there was a sharp edge to it. A sinister edge to it. The Bears turned around to face Theo. He had one of his hands behind his back while the other one held his phone gently.

Grizz sighed in irritation, clearly annoyed with Theo's antics. " Theo, we are very busy today. Now, if you'll just-" Suddenly, Theo's expression melted into a deranged smirk as he squeezed the phone in his hand, breaking it into little pieces. Grizz's mouth closed as his words died out from surprise. Nobody said anything else.

The only sounds that were made would be from the rustling of the trees and the thundering of a storm coming. A single drop of rain fell from the clouds. It made a small splashing sound. The sound was barely audible, but it awoke the Bears from their confusion nonetheless.

" What the heck, dude! It took us a half an hour to find that!" Grizz yelled angrily. Theo shrugged and dropped the phone pieces on the ground while smashing them even more with his boot. " I didn't need it anymore," Theo said as he stalked towards the Bears menacingly. He pointed to Ice bear. " He's the one I want. The one I spied on for days. The one I'm going to take home with me today."

Though they were still shocked, confused, and scared, both Panda and Grizz managed to glare venomously at Theo. He was not getting their little brother. Grizz and Panda stood in front of Ice bear protectively. " You can't have him you crazy loon!" Panda exclaimed. " You're not getting anywhere near him," Grizz growled. " Ice bear should have brought his ax," Ice stated as he positioned his body into a more defensive stance.

Theo's smirk widened and he shook his finger at the Bears, as if he was talking to mere children. " I don't think you clearly understand your predicament. I have no doubt in my mind that you will see reason and let me take Ice bear or, if things go really well, Ice bear himself will come with me willingly." " We will never hand our little brother to you!" Panda yelled. By now, the storm has gotten worse. The wind has picked up speed, the sky darkened threateningly, and more water droplets fell down the sky in a rapid pace.

" Think about your current situation," Theo said. " You're in an unknown territory, you have nowhere to run, and one of will die if you don't do as I say." " Is that a threat," Grizz said. " No, in fact, the effects should be kicking in about...

5

4

3

2-" Suddenly, Panda started coughing. His condition grew more poor with every second. The brothers stared at Panda in worry as his coughing continued to worsen. " Well, that was faster than expected," Theo said in amusement. Panda fell on his knees and onto the ground, gasping for breath. " Panda!" Grizz exclaimed as Ice caught Panda from falling face down on the dead grass. Panda continued to wheeze violently, his throat and cheeks swelling up, making it nearly impossible for him to breathe, let alone talk.

" Swelling is a normal symptom for an allergic reaction. Since Panda is allergic to nuts, I thought it would be interesting to see what his effects are." " But why did the reaction start to kick in now! It should have been as soon as his tongue even touched a nut." "Well, what if I told you that what I gave him wasn't a nut? What I made for him was a concoction of my own. It has the same chemical structure of a nut, but it's still different. I experimented on many people with a similar nut allergy that Panda has. I timed their reaction to see when it will kick in. I was pleased to see that a half an hour was the maximum time limit, give or take depending on the person. Sadly, none of the people I used survived long enough to see my success." Grizz stared at Theo, horrified. " Y-you killed all those people just to get to my little brother." Theo's smirk simply widened.

Grizz's eyes widened in fright as he turned towards Ice urgently. " Bro, get Panda's medicine, quickly!" Ice nodded and shakily took out Panda's medicine. He was about to inject some into his system, before he was once again stopped by Theo. " I admire that you're still trying to save your brother, Icy, but like I said, what I gave him wasn't a nut. You need a different medicine in order for the swelling to go down. Luckily for you three," Theo then took out a needle. It was filled with a light blue liquid. It must be the antidote! " I have the correct medicine right here."

Grizz turned towards Ice bear, signaling him to stand near Panda. Ice nodded and tried to perform some breathing treatments for Panda. Grizz turned towards Theo and asked," What are you Theo?" " What do you think I am?" " A monster." Theo laughed. As he laughed, Theo's form began to change. It changed into something taller, bigger, and scarier. Grizz gasped, Panda nearly screamed, and Ice's eyes widened.

Theo, if that's even his real name, turned into a giant snake. He still had the antidote safely tucked in a skin pocket. The snake resembled a cobra somewhat, but it had a different color pattern on its back. The only thing that the cobra kept that Theo had would be his sapphire blue eyes, now slitted dangerously in malicious glee.

" If you're thinking about taking the antidote from me, you might have to change your plans," snake Theo hissed out. " Besides, do you really have time to fight me?" The snake gestured towards Panda. Panda was in critical condition. His breathing was slowing down and his swelling still hasn't let up. If they didn't get the medicine soon... " _No! I can't let that happen! But I can't let this monster get Ice bear either. What do I do!? This is so messed up_ ," Grizz thought frantically. He couldn't choose between his brothers, he couldn't.

" Judging by how he's breathing, and the terrible weather conditions, I'd give Panda about three minutes of life before he suffocates. I don't know about you, but for me that's a long time. Let's speed things up shall we?" snake Theo said. Taking the medicine with his tail from his skin pocket, Theo held it up over his head. Grizz looked up at Theo desperately, already having an idea on what he will do.

" If you don't make a decision soon, Grizz, I'll smash this needle to pieces, along with your hope of saving Panda's life." " Why are you doing this to us!? We never did anything to you before?!" Grizz yelled. Theo smiled down at Grizz and explained his reasons calmly. " It's simple, I want something, and this is the only way to get it. You're the one that's being stubborn." " Why do you want Ice bear? Why don't you take me instead?" Grizz asked pleadingly.

" I don't want you. I planned all of this to get Icy and that's all." Taking a more serious edge, Theo said," Your choices are simple, Grizz. One, let your brother die and I get Ice anyway, since I'm stronger than the both of you or two, you willingly let me get Ice and your brother lives. I won't kill Ice if that's what you're worried about. I wouldn't have planned this much just to kill him." " _Then what do you want with him_ ," Grizz thought sadly. " If you can get him by force, then why do all this?" " I like to see my prey squirm a little."

Suddenly, Theo slid up to meet Grizz's terrified stare. They were only inches apart. " What will it be, Grizz? It's your choice," were the only words that crawled out of Theo's mouth as he stared at Grizz, waiting for an answer.

What will he choose? A good question indeed. Yet, the better question is: Will someone choose for him? All good things are given through time. Sadly, Grizz didn't have time. Ice bear knew that all too well.


	4. Chapter 4

**-Chapter Four-  
**  
 _Where do you go, if death is breathing down your neck?  
_

Ice's eyes widened in horror as he stared at snake Theo. He held his older brother in his arms, hoping that he could do something, anything that could help him. Panda's gasps and wheezes grew heavier, and his breathing was getting more rapid. What was worse was the weather conditions. The air was humid, and since it was about to rain, it made the air musty and thick.

Ice tried everything he could. He tried to make Panda breathe more through his nose then through his mouth, but that didn't help much. Panda wheezed even more, causing Ice to snap out of his trance and look back down towards his older brother. They needed that antidote, and they needed it now. Ice flashed Grizz a silent plea before turning back towards Panda once again, attempting to find a way to open Panda's airways so he could breathe a little easier.

Theo looked amusingly at Grizz, then turned towards Ice bear. It was somewhat amusing to see how much you can make people squirm. It was almost just as amusing to see how predictable people can be. Turning back towards Grizz, Theo decided that it was about time to make things more... interesting. " I'll give you to the count of three to make a decision, Grizz. Don't make a decision," Theo teasingly waved the medicine in front of Grizz's horrified face. " Well, I think you get the idea."

Grizz's eyes widened fearfully. " You... You don't really expect me to choose between my brothers?" " Honestly, Grizz, I already know that someone will choose for you," Theo said. Unknown to Grizz, Theo directed his gaze to Ice bear and smirked. Ice saw his gaze and glared back. Theo lifted the bottle up higher and higher. He stopped... And started counting down.

"3."

Theo lifted the bottle even higher, ignoring Grizz's pleas to stop. He continued to stare at Ice bear expectantly.

"2."

Ice bear clenched his paws angrily. He glared at the ground in defeat, tears threatening to spill from his eyes. It was hopeless. They couldn't lose Panda, just because Ice bear was too scared to do what was needed to be done.

"1-" " Wait."

Theo's smirk widened, if that was even possible. Ice didn't exclaim, scream, or yell. He said it quietly, in his normal monotone voice. Yet, he made sure that Theo could still hear the words that admitted his defeat. " _Right before I dropped the needle too_ ," Theo mused in his head. How… _predictable_.

Ice bear gently lifted his brother's head off of his lap and got up. Suddenly, a black paw reached up and grabbed Ice's arm weakly. " N- no.. bro... don't," Panda rasped out, before wheezing once again. His time was ticking away, and Ice couldn't just sit there and do nothing. Ice took Panda's paw and gently placed it down on the grassy floor.

Rain drops fell from the dark sky while thunder rumbled quietly in the distance. It started to sprinkle even more. Ice walked around Grizz to stand in front of snake Theo. Said snake slowly shifted into a different form. This form looked like Theo's original form, but he was now taller than Ice and older looking as well. He still held the needle away from Ice bear. Ice bear looked up at Theo and said," Ice bear doesn't understand why you want him, but that's not important now, is it?"

" True, it is of little importance **now** , but I'm sure your curiosity will get the better of you. And when you ask, I'll give you an answer. However," Theo moved his gaze to Panda. Grizz was now at Panda's side, guarding him while staring at both Theo and Ice helplessly. " I don't think Panda has time for meaningless chatter." Ice bear gave Theo a small glare before reaching his paw out to Theo.

Theo's smugness dimmed slightly as he glared at Ice Bear. " If I give you the antidote now, what makes me believe that you won't run away with your brothers." " You did bring the real antidote." Theo chuckled and said," I'm not as dishonorable as you make me out to be Ice bear." Ice bear bit his bottom lip, quickly trying to think up a good compromise that Theo would agree to.

Theo stared at Ice's expression before suggesting," If I give you the antidote, you can then hand it to Grizz. However, he will have to come to you, for I will be holding your paw so you won't run away." Nodding hesitantly, Ice felt Theo's cold hand wrap around his paw while he gave Ice bear the medicine. Quickly, Ice turned towards Grizz and handed him the medicine.

Running back towards Panda, Grizz injected him with the medicine. The swelling was already going down and Panda started to breathe normally. Grizz turned towards Ice bear with a saddened expression on his face. Before Theo could start walking, Grizz called out," Why are you doing this to us? Why... Why is this happening?" Theo smiled as Grizz asked the redundant question and started walking towards Grizz with Ice bear in tow. "There really isn't a reason why I'm doing this. I have a plan for San Francisco, and I feel that your brother can help me with that. I, however, don't need you two." He then shrugged and added, " It's a win-win situation for me. I like Ice bear better than you two anyways."

Grizz's defeated expression depleted even more at Theo's words while Panda looked up at Ice bear sadly. With Theo still holding his paw, Ice bear bent down and hugged his two brothers. He didn't want to let go of them. He didn't want to say goodbye, but what choice do you have, when you have a supernatural psychopath literally squeezing your paw in a death grip. Panda weakly returned the hug and started to cry. His crying didn't have screaming or yelling, only large water droplets spilling from his eyes.

Grizz hugged Ice bear as well, though he didn't cry as much as Panda, small tears fell from his eyes. He tried to hold in his sadness, but in the end, his tears just fell faster down his cheeks. The sprinkles of rain slowly went down heavier and faster, until it was pouring on the three brothers and the creature. Ice didn't cry, he didn't want to cry, not in front of his brothers. The creature fought the urge to roll its eyes and started to pull Ice bear away from his family. Feeling his younger brother slip from his grasp, Grizz almost lunged at Ice bear, but Ice stopped him. " Get him to the hospital," was all Ice said before he was pulled deeper into the forest. Grizz stood there, looking at the forest then back to his younger brother. Gritting his teeth, Grizz ran over to Panda and picked him up gently. Tears continued to fall from his eyes and onto a half conscious Panda as he started to jog to the hospital.

As the rain poured harder and harder on both the creature and Ice bear, Ice bear felt himself get heavier and heavier. A realization struck Ice bear. He might never see his brothers ever again. Another tug on his paw, and Ice bear walked faster. The hand was extremely cold, and with the cool rain beating against it, the uncomfortable coldness seemed to numb Ice bear's paw. Ice squirmed uncomfortably, trying to loosen the grip the creature had on his paw, but the more he squirmed, the tighter a grip the creature had on him. The creature, annoyed with Ice bear's tuggings, squeezed his paw in a painful manner. Wincing at the grip, Ice forced himself to relax and stop squirming.

Both Ice bear and the creature walked in silence, with Ice bear being dragged behind him. Though Ice bear wasn't shackled, it seemed like the rain placed weights on his body, stopping him from moving fast, and the hand was like a chain, dragging Ice bear along forcefully. Ice bear felt tears prick his eyes as he continued to trudge. He was scared, and he didn't know what the creature wanted with him, but most of all, he didn't know if Panda was still okay.

It's okay to cry, but for Ice bear, it was better to cry in the rain, for no one can tell when you're crying or not. However, the creature could tell. Smiling quietly, the creature peaked at Ice bear and saw a silent stream of tears falling from his eyes. To a human, it just looked like the rain was simply sliding down his face, but the smell of salt was easily detected, and though Ice was always monotone, the creature could see the misery swirling around in those unique silver gray eyes. Eyes that were usually hard as ice, and steely like metal, now soften to a light gray, dimmed a little with tears cascading down the polar bear's cheeks.

The creature looked up at the sky and smiled. " _We're almost there_."

* * *

Panda opened his eyes and groaned. Everything was blurry. The first thing that came to his mind was that he forgot to put on his contacts, but then he noticed that he was lying in a bed. A hospital bed. After a few minutes, Panda's vision cleared and saw Grizz sitting next to him, his head resting on his paws. Leaning forward, Panda tapped Grizz's shoulder gently. Grizz looked at Panda and smiled weakly. " Hey little bro... Had me worried for a second." " Grizz... Where's our little brother?" Panda asked. His heart stopped when he saw tears flowing down Grizz's face.

Memories flooded into Panda's brain, and everything started to piece together, like a puzzle, except Panda didn't want to solve it. He didn't want to believe that everything that happened… could possibly be true. Sadly, it was, and Panda knew it. Slowly sitting back in the bed, Panda covered his face with his paws and began to sob. " I... I'm so, **so** sorry Grizz!" Panda sobbed out loud. " If I wasn't so stupid! I wouldn't have... I... Oh God! I'm sorry!" Suddenly, Panda felt strong arms envelope him in a hug. Panda looked up, surprised. Grizz was hugging him, tears similar to Panda's spilled down his face. " Don't apologize Panda. None of this is your fault. It's mine. I should have listened to you. I should have talked to Ice sooner. I shouldn't have let him search for Theo's phone. I... I'm sorry."

By now, Grizz was shaking violently now, crying loudly on Panda's shoulder. "You...You could have died Panda! And now... now our little brother is gone! I'm sorry Pan-Pan! I'm the one who should be sorry." Panda bit his lip sadly and returned Grizz's hug. Both brothers cried, each depending on each other to keep whatever strength they had left. But what hope do they have? They didn't know where Ice bear was, who Theo really is, and where to start looking. Both brothers knew that their situation was hopeless.

But they had to stay strong... For Ice bear.


	5. Chapter 5

**-** **Chapter Five-**

 _What do you do, when you have no hope left?_

 _"_ We're almost there," Theo said nonchalantly. Ice bear nodded weakly as he continued to trudge behind Theo. Theo, noticing Ice bear's weariness, stated," You know, I asked if I could carry you a while back. That offer still stands." Ice bear glared at Theo and he merely chuckled. " Alright tough guy, whatever you want." The afternoon sun slowly went down, and it was already night. It stopped raining a while back, but the air was still damp, as well as the ground below them. Ice bear looked down at is feet and saw the mud and grass staining his white fur. They've been walking for a while now, but it seems like Theo was just leading him in a random direction.

Theo looked forward and smirked. " Like I said, we're almost there. However-" Theo stopped abruptly and turned to face Ice bear, looming over him threateningly. Ice bear unconsciously stepped backwards in surprise, but the hand holding his paw stopped him from going anywhere else. Leaning towards Ice bear, he leered down at him until their faces were only an inch apart. " This will be your resting spot." Theo's sapphire blue eyes flashed and Ice bear staggered backwards in pain. Theo's hand tightened around Ice's paw as Ice fell forward, unconscious. Theo poked Ice bear's body, testing to see if he was still conscious or not. Smirking with satisfaction, Theo changed into a bigger form and hoisted Ice bear over his shoulder. " Sorry bud, but I don't think it would be a good idea if you knew where I lived," Theo said to Ice bear. Smiling slightly, he continued to walk forward, not at all bothered by the extra weight on his back.

When Theo walked around the forest like this, he, surprisingly, felt genuinely happy. Especially if it was nighttime. He felt powerful at night. Everything and everyone seemed to fear him more. At times like this, it reminded Theo about all the times he hunted for food. Simply reminiscing about his prey caused Theo to drool. He licked his suddenly dry lips and looked around the dark forest, wondering if there was something to eat. " _I could eat later_ ," Theo thought. " _Priority number one, get Icy to my den_."

Food came easy to Theo, or should I say, the creature. The creature was a master hunter, but a sadistic being as well. It reveled in pleasure at the thought of hearing its victims high pitched screams, feeling them squirm helplessly as it sunk its sharp fangs into their scrawny necks. Warm blood would then flood into its mouth, making the creature even more ravenous, accidentally ripping said prey into slithers of skin and meat in its excitement. The creature never had a clean kill, it prefered to show everyone what it could do. How much of a mess it could make. And above all, it wanted to show how weak the humans really are.

Carrying Ice bear reminded Theo, or the creature, about all the times he dragged a body, either dead or alive, back to its den just to have it end up rotting away. However, Ice bear would be a different case. What would Ice sound if he ever screamed? Would it be in his regular monotone voice? Would he scream at all? If he didn't, would his eyes swell up in fear? Would Ice's unique grey Ice start to water in fright? Theo shook his head at the thought. Ice wasn't pathetic... but it would be an adorable sight to see. Would he stiffen and shake? But, if Ice did scream, would it be filled with emotion: anguish, fear, pain, anger, you name it.

These are some things that Theo often pondered, and there were deeper things that he was about to get into. Much more interesting things. But, as it finally approached its den, Theo started laughing in glee, similar to how a child would laugh on Christmas day. " _Oh, what a beautiful day to be walking in the woods_."

* * *

" We have to find him," Grizz said to his brother, who was still in a light blue gown on a hospital bed. Both Panda and Grizz were still at the hospital. They wouldn't let Panda leave the hospital because the doctors stated that his condition was still critical, even if he had the antidote in his system. Not wanting to wait it for long, Panda convinced the doctors to let Grizz stay with him until he "recovered". Both Grizz and Panda knew that now was a good time to talk about their current situation.

" I know, but how? We don't know where Theo lives, we can't track Ice bear because he doesn't have a phone, we can't ask for help because no one will believe us, and in the slight chance we do find him we have to face a shape-shifting crazy person who would most likely kill our brother _**and us**_ if we aren't careful!" Panda exclaimed, hyperventilating a little. " We'll find a way Pan-Pan. Besides, we still have people that will believe us. There's Chloe, Charlie, and Ranger Tabes." " But Grizz, even if they do believe us, how can they help us?"

Grizz went silent for a moment, pondering Panda's words. He had a point. Chloe, though was both a genius and a prodigy, was only a child. They can't drag her into this. Charlie was actually "Bigfoot" and because of that he can't show his face to the public. Theo could use that against them and put Charlie in danger. Ranger Tabes was left. Sure the Bears knew others, but it wasn't wise to place all of them in danger.

Maybe, if they played their cards right...

" We can still have Chloe, Charlie, and Ranger Tabes help us, but we'll have them help us in way Theo wouldn't suspect," Grizz finally deduced. " What do you mean?" Grizz walked towards one of the drawers and took out a piece of paper and a pencil. He walked back towards Panda and sat next to him.

" Okay, let's pretend that all of our connections make a tree-" " Bro, that really doesn't make any sense," Panda dead panned. " Bare with me. So, let's say that Chloe, Charlie, and Ranger Tabes are the three main branches and everyone else would fall underneath them," Grizz said while drawing out the diagram. He drew Chloe's branch first. Underneath her was-

" Nom Nom! You're planning on asking Nom Nom for help!?" " Hey, he isn't that bad when it comes down to it. Besides, Nom Nom is internet famous! That's something that we don't have. If we're going to pressure Theo into giving our baby brother back, then we need the right person to trap him."

Panda sighed sadly and said," Okay, if we do somehow convince Nom Nom to help us, how is Chloe going to help?" " Like Nom Nom, Chloe doesn't have to be physically involved in this problem. She can help us track down Theo. She'll be in the tracking branch. Nom Nom will broadcast a video about our missing brother. We'll make this big so that it will be easier to find Theo."

Then, Grizz started drawing Charlie. Nobody was underneath his branch. Panda looked up at Grizz in confusion. " We can't match Charlie up with anyone, it'll blow his cover." " Right, right. Continue." " Charlie is technically a supernatural creature and he's traveled through the forest many times. Heck, he practically lives there!" " Grizz, we live in the forest too." " That's besides the point. Maybe he's heard about what kind of creature Theo is. He can also try to track Ice bear through the forest, on foot."

Finally, Grizz started to draw Ranger Tabes, nobody was underneath her either. " Ranger Tabes will be part of the law/justice branch. Like Charlie, she knows about the forest and, more importantly, about the law. She will provide us with information regarding reports on missing people." " How will that help us, Grizz?" Panda asked. Grizz shrugged. " It's just a hunch, but something tells me that Theo is the kind of person that does more than kidnap random people."

Hearing the dark edge in Grizz's tone, Panda gulped nervously. He believed that Grizz's theory was probably more correct than he knew. Shaking away his nerves, Panda reviewed Grizz's plan in his head. " … I think your plan might work, but there's still a few problems with it." " Like what?" " Well, for starters, I don't think we should broadcast the kidnapping." " What!? Why not? Wouldn't it be better if everyone knew?" " Yes, but then Theo will figure out that we are planning on getting our brother back. He'll hurt our little brother!" " Panda, Theo already knows that we'll try to get our brother back. Also," Grizz took a deep breath, " ... We might have to consider the possibility... That no matter what we do... Theo will hurt him anyways," Grizz whispered out sadly. The air between the two brothers thickened with tension. The unspoken truth was made known. The uncomfortable silence stretched on for minutes.

"... I know that. But, if he's going to get hurt either way, I would prefer if… I... I don't want him to get more hurt than he needs to be." "... Okay, you have a point. So, no to the broadcast." " Yeah. We can figure something else out. There's one more thing that I don't like about your plan." " What's that?" " Do we really need Nom Nom? What if he doesn't agree?" " We need to try Pan-Pan. Trust me. Our plan will work."

Grizz gave Panda a reassuring smile. Panda sniffed a little before smiling back at Grizz sadly. Just then, the doctor came in and read over her notes. After a few minutes, the doctor turned towards the two brothers and adjusted her glasses. "Okay, Panda, it seems that you are clear to go. Your vitals are back to normal and your swelling has gone down completely. There is no chance for it to spike up now." The doctor opened the door and gestured her hand towards it. " You may leave now."

The brothers muttered a quick thank you and walked out the door quietly. As they got out of the hospital, the bears got back on their normal bear stack routine, feeling empty knowing that the brother they love and cherished isn't at the bottom of the stack, providing them with the strength and security that the two older brothers depended on. They walked back towards their cave, wishing, but knowing, that Ice bear won't be in the kitchen, preparing a delicious meal for them. They wouldn't see Ice's emotionless gaze staring back at them. They wouldn't hear his cool and calm voice telling them that the food was getting cold. Ice bear wasn't there.

But that doesn't mean he's gone.

* * *

" Okay, first order of business: We need to call all of our friends," Panda said. Right away, the bears went to work, contacting their friends and asking them to come over at different times. They decided that it was best if they asked Charlie first. After all, Charlie was currently sitting on their living room couch eating some Cheese Poofies™ and watching some TV.

" Charlie! What are you doing here?" Panda asked. Charlie turned towards the bears and literally jumped off the couch. The Cheese Poofies™ were scattered everywhere in his excitement. He ran towards the two brothers and gave them a big hug. A **big** hug. " Hey buddies! I didn't expect you guys to come back so soon! Want some snacks? I made some snacks!" Charlie bent down and picked up a hairy Cheese Poofie™ from the ground and handed it to Panda. " Have a Cheese Poofie™ Pan-Pan! They're literally everywhere!" Despite the situation, Panda couldn't help groaning in disgust. Wiping his cheese coated hands on his fur, Charlie noticed something was off. Weren't there usually three bears? " Hey, where's sunshine? Isn't he usually here with you…" Charlie started to trail off when he saw the identical looks of guilt cross both Panda's and Grizz's faces.

" H-hey, what's wrong guys? Did something happen to sunshine? Why isn't he here with you?" Charlie asked in concern. " Charlie, something terrible has happened and we're going to need your help," Grizz said urgently. Charlie nodded his head quickly. " I understand. Something happened to sunshine. Why don't you guys sit down and tell me everything."

The group moved towards the kitchen and sat down. The Bears had a lot of explaining to do.

* * *

 _" Cold. So cold," a voice moaned out. " Why is everything so very, very cold!?" another voice screeched. " Where is everyone? Why am I alone?" another asked " Please help me! Anyone! Someone! Help!" a voice screamed. Ice bear kept walking, however, trying his best to ignore the screams and agonized wails of the walls around him. " It's just a dream, it's just a dream," Ice bear reminded himself. But dream or not, this place was terrifying._

 _Like last time, Ice bear was walking alone in a large dark cave. Unlike last time, Ice bear wasn't lost. He knew where to go. This time, Ice was searching for something... Or someone. " Where's that little girl?" Ice thought as he continued to walk through the large maze of walls._

 _" I hope she's alright. She did after all help me escape... Oh what am I saying! I'm in a dream, and I'm thinking about my last dream, in my dream!" Ice bear groaned in frustration and stopped walking, his traitorous thoughts giving him a migraine. Who knew that you could think about a dream in a dream to find a dream-made girl who helped you in your last dream to escape from a dream creature from said dream... If that makes any sense._

 _Ice sighed sadly and sat down near the stony wall. He curled up on himself and hid his face in his knees. " What am I doing here?" " W-what a-are you d-d-doing here?" a small voice repeated. Ice bear gasped and looked up. It was that frail girl! The girl was standing above him, looking down in confusion. " A-and w-why d-do you keep c-coming b-back here?"_

 _Ice bear shrugged. " Ice bear has no idea either." The girl's expression fell into an even more saddened state as she said," Why did you just refer to yourself in the third person? I heard you talking to yourself earlier and you were talking regularly." Ice bear visibly stiffened. " I... Ice bear would prefer not to talk about that."_

 _The girl smiled weakly and she sat down next to Ice. " I understand why you wouldn't want to tell me. I know that I'm not the strongest person here. I know that I'm pretty pathetic." She started laughing humorlessly, a few tears trickling down her eyes. " I'm trying so hard not to stutter, you know? I was always a weak person, but being here for so long..." She decided not to finish that sentence. Silence grew between the two as they sat in the dark._

 _" ... Ice bear speaks like this... The reason why is..." Ice bear sighed sadly, trying to explain. The girl, seeing his frustration, commented," You don't have to tell me now, if you don't want to." " Arigato." " So, your name is Ice bear?" Ice bear nodded his head. " What's your name?" Ice asked. The girl's expression fell at the question. " I... I don't remember. I know that I have a family. I know that I have a name. But I just don't remember." Ice bear pondered for a while before saying," Ice bear can give you a name." The girl's eyes lit up like fireworks, her green eyes actually gaining some color._

 _"You... You would do that?" Ice bear nodded his head._

 _Suddenly, the girl shot towards Ice bear and wrapped her arms around him. " Thank you!" Ice bear stiffened a little before awkwardly hugging her back. When she finally let go, she gave Ice bear a weak smile. Ice bear coughed a little before saying," Ice bear was thinking about naming you Ch-"_

" Time to wake up, Icy," a voice said.

Ice bear's eyes snapped open in surprise, but immediately shut when he felt a stinging pain hit his forehead. After a few seconds, the throbbing pain became bearable and Ice bear opened his eyes. His vision was blurry at first, but soon began to clear. The first thing he saw was Theo. He appeared to be crouching in front of Ice bear. Ice tried to get up, but found that impossible. His limbs felt too heavy, and Ice bear felt too tired to try anything else.

" Sorry about that. Usually if I use my more powerful illusions, it tends to leave people... fatigue, immobile even. Don't worry, the effects should be wearing off soon," Theo said. Ice bear opened his mouth to talk, but found that he couldn't. Just like his limbs, his throat refused to work. " Oh, that happens sometimes too. Here," Theo gave Ice a bottle of water," have some water." Nodding his head, Ice bear weakly lifted his arm and took the bottle of water in his paw and lifted it up to his mouth. Cool water spilled down Ice's throat and made it feel better. " What do you want with Ice bear," Ice said gruffly. His voice was always soft, but it was even softer and scratchy sounding now.

Theo smirked and stood up. " Why should I explain, when I can show you?" "Ice bear can't move." " That won't be necessary." Slowly, Theo morphed into another creature. It seemed to be some kind of mammal, a quadruped to be specific, but Ice bear couldn't tell. Whatever it was, it was huge, scary looking, and it had razor sharp teeth and claws. It walked up to Ice bear and gently bit his scruff, dragging him across the floor. Ice bear grunted in pain when he felt said razor sharp teeth dig into his fur. Instinctively, Ice bear began to struggle, but all he could do in his current condition was move his arms. Theo, not noticing Ice bear's weak attempts to get away, continued walking steadily.

Ice bear sighed and allowed himself to be dragged. The ground was uncomfortable and he was pretty sure that he was bleeding from the bite mark (it still hurt even when Theo was being gentle), but there was nothing Ice bear could do but wait. Theo felt something warm leak into his mouth. It tasted like copper, it was a taste Theo knew all too well. Smirking slightly, Theo bit down a little harder causing Ice bear to yelp in pain. Ice bear turned his head towards him and glared at him weakly. Theo ignored it and continued walking.

After a few minutes of walking, Theo dropped Ice bear on the ground and gestured to one of the cave walls. Ice bear's gaze followed Theo's paw slowly. When Ice bear saw what Theo was pointing at, Ice bear felt like he was about to throw up. It was a horrible sight indeed.

" _Oh God_ ," was what passed through Ice bear's mind as he stared in horror at the bloody puppets that lined up on the shelves of the dark cave.

Puppets that were once people.


	6. Chapter 6

**-Chapter Six-**

 _Who do you depend on, when there's barely anyone there?_

" Oh no! ThisisbadthisbadthisisbadthisisreallyREALLYREALLY-" " Charlie! You got to calm down buddy," Grizz yelled. Charlie quickly stopped in his panic. After telling Charlie both their plan and their story, Charlie began to have a panic attack. He started running around the cave, screaming while jumping up and down on the couch. He finally stopped running around screaming... just to then replace that with repeating the same words over and over again on top of their kitchen table.

Realizing that he was standing on the table, Charlie stepped down and sat in a nearby chair, remaining silent. " I know this is bad, Charlie, but we were hoping that you would know what kind of... thing Theo is," Panda said. Charlie sighed and said," Guys, I know what kind of creature that Theo guy is, but I'm not sure that you'd want to know. Or for that matter, how I'll be able to help."

Charlie got up from his chair and started walking out the door. " Sorry fellas, but this is something that I can't help with. And as your friend, I highly recommend that you don't hunt down this guy either." " Just telling us what Theo is will help us!" Panda exclaimed. Sighing sadly, Panda then said," Charlie, I know that you're scared, we are too, and I know that you probably won't want to help us anymore than this, but as his brothers, we have both the right and the responsibility to know what took him and try to save him." Charlie stopped in his tracks. " Yeah, you can't expect us to just roll over and let our little brother get hurt," Grizz added.

Grizz and Panda understood that Charlie was a soft hearted guy. Besides, the bears couldn't just drag someone else into their problems. Friend or no, they understood that Charlie had a right to be scared and because of that, he didn't need to help. "... No, you guys are right." Charlie turned around and began walking back to the kitchen. "Sunshine is my best friend, same with all of you. What kind of buddy would I be if I didn't help?"

Walking towards the counter table, Charlie took a piece of paper from the drawer and a pencil from one of the cups. He turned around and sat in a chair across from Panda and Grizz. Taking a deep breath, he continued. "The creature that I think Theo is was known in many parts of the world in the early 1800's." Charlie began to draw a figure. "Eventually, their legend died out when more interesting fables began popping up." " What, like you?" Grizz asked.

Charlie paused, thinking a little, but then he shook his head. " Naw, for one thing I'm not that old. Also, I'm not exactly in that category." " What do you mean by category?" Panda asked. " People have had theories about 'Big Foot' being aggressive or dangerous, but there wasn't any proof to, well, prove that theory. I'm more in the elusive, mysterious yet harmless supernatural creature category." " So, do all supernatural creatures put themselves in a category," Grizz asked with a hint of excitement in his voice.

"Bro, we need to focus on the task at hand!" Panda scolded.

" It's alright Pan-Man. I was about to bring that up anyway. And answering your question Grizz, yes, at least every supernatural creature I know has put themselves in a category. Why, I asked the leprechaun a few years ago what category he put himself in and he said that it was the same one I put myself in!" Charlie laughed a little, but that quickly died down. " Heh, that was the longest conversation we had." " What? Don't you supernatural dudes have some sort of connection or something?" Grizz asked.

Charlie shook his head sadly and continued to draw. " No, we try not to keep in touch. I said it once and I'll say it again, you three bears are the only friends I have. B-besides snake of course!" Seeing both of his friends twin looks of pity, Charlie quickly forced a smile on his face. " B-but it's okay though! Who needs those other guys- I mean, you guys are the best buds I ever had!-" " You mean the only friends you ever had," Panda thought sadly.

" That's why we have to find Sunshine! Now as I was saying-" Clearing his throat, Charlie continued. " Your guy, Theo, he's more in the creepy scary dude that kidnaps your children supernatural category."

"... What?" Panda asked, fear creeping into his tone. " You weren't wrong when you said that Sunshine wasn't the only guy who was taken, Grizz. I don't know much about it, but there has been some strange talk going around in the forest. Screams of humans shouting occasionally around them. The stench of blood that would fill the air afterwards. And finally, the deathly silence that would soon follow after." Charlie looked down guiltily.

" I didn't want to scare you guys. I thought that they were just rumors. After all, birds do always seem to chat more than they think. And even if the thing was real, these strange happenings were occurring in the deeper part of the woods, and I know that you guys live a little closer to the city. I also thought that... maybe it was just an aggressive wolf or something like that. I never... I... I'm sorry guys." Charlie placed his head down on the table. His words were a little muffled, but the Bears could still understand pretty well.

" If I just told you guys what was happening-" " We don't blame you, Charlie. You don't have to apologize," Panda said softly as he gently patted Charlie's back. Grizz nodded in agreement. " Yeah, you didn't know what that creature was. It was our fault. We should have been better brothers." Charlie lifted his head up and stared at the two bears, eyes slightly glassy from crying.

Smiling sadly, Charlie said," What I'm I doing, crying like a baby? We've got ourselves an Ice bear to save." He wiped his eyes with his arm and handed them the picture. On the sheet of paper were multiple drawings of a tall, shaded figure. Their face was hidden from view and their body appeared to be sickly thin. " Is this-" " There were many names that the humans gave this creature. They were known all around the world, but their names were first given by the Koreans, Irish, Japanese, and Spanish folk. Though Japanese and Korean cultures have the most stories about this guy," Charlie said.

Panda stared at the creature for a while. Something about it was familiar... Suddenly, Panda remembered something. Quickly getting up, Panda ran to his room, ignoring both Charlie's and grizz's confused stares. He grabbed his laptop and ran back to the kitchen, almost tripping in the process. " Guys! Guys! I've seen this creature before when I was on my phone!" " Really, when did you have time to look up stuff like this?" Grizz asked curiously.

Panda sat in the chair between Grizz and Charlie so that they could all see.

"Grizz, remember when we all thought we had the bear flu?" " Yeah?" " Well, while I was looking up the, um, symptoms, I happened to pass by a few pictures of some weird supernatural creatures. You know, since they're kind of in the same creepy category. There's this one creature that I remembered clearly." " Why, because it creeped you out the most?" Charlie asked. " No, because it reminded me of Slender-man." Low and behold an almost identical looking picture of the creature was sitting right in front of the screen.

" It says here that this creature has many names. All of them are in a different language! What are we gonna do?" Charlie asked. " Wait, Charlie, didn't you say that you traveled the world? Can you at least speak Spanish or something?" " When did I say that? I traveled a lot, I didn't just walk around the world." " Ok, fine! Here's what we're going to do: Does anyone know any local translators around San Francisco?" " Guys, we could just use this wonderful thing called Google," Panda said, already typing the names down. "... That works too."

After a few minutes, Panda finally got all the words translated:

 **からくり士_Japanese**

 **Puppet master**

 **Titiritero_Spanish**

 **Puppeteer**

 **Puipéad Daonna_Irish**

 **Human puppet**

 **사기꾼_Korean**

 **Trickster**

" This is the creature's name?" Grizz asked. " Apparently, yes. Yes it is. It looks like the creature is mostly based off of Korean culture, so we'll call it a Sagikkun*, since that's how you pronounce the name," Panda said. " So Charlie, what's the deal with this creature anyway? Why would he... it kidnap our brother?" " Well, as the name describes, Sagikkuns are tricksters.

They are unpredictable and mysterious. They love to work in the dark and are very lethal." Charlie sat back in his chair and started to scratch his head in confusion. " However, the Sagikkun that kidnapped Sunshine is... different." " What do you mean?" Panda asked. " Well, for starters, I thought that Sagikkuns were extinct. The stories say that they died out over 1000 years ago." " 1000!" Grizz exclaimed. " Give or take. Since these critters are usually close-knit when it comes to family, I take it this guy is the last of its kind. Also, what is it doing all the way here? It just doesn't add up."

While Grizz and Charlie continued to talk, Panda re-read the names again. And again. And again. " _Human Puppet... Human Puppet... The Puppeteer... Trickster... Why do I have a feeling that this is all somehow connected. What's a human puppet anyways?_ " " Uh, Charlie, quick question. Why is the Sagikkuns called the human puppet, but also called the Puppeteer?" " ..." Charlie seemed hesitant to answer. " Charlie, what's up?" Grizz asked in concern. " ... This is where the Sagikkuns get their infamous name. Legend says that the Sagikkun would wear the face of a beloved human, usually ones that have passed or have disappeared. Sagikkuns could shape shift after all. They would trick families into coming with them, deep into the forest, to kill them." " So he could eat them... right?" Panda asked, feeling a growing sense of dread pooling into his stomach.

Charlie shook his head. " I wish that was just the case. The Sagikkuns would indeed eat their prey, but they would also... steal their faces and skin." " WHAT!?" Panda and Grizz screamed. " That's how the Sagikkuns could shape shift, alright! They, they would copy the look of other people, since they didn't like their original forms anyways." "But, why?! Why don't they just stick to their original forms instead of just ripping someone's face off!" "They would do more than that." " What could they possibly do that could be worse than that?" Grizz asked, disgust lacing his tone. " The Sagikkuns were a proud species. They would make trophies of their kill by using the extra skin and meat that they gathered and made them into puppets."... Silence... Complete silence followed after Charlie's statement.

" ... That's why they're called the Puppet Masters. That's why they're called Human Puppet..." "... But... The name is Human Puppet... Not Puppeteer... Maybe... There's a reason why that is?" Grizz weakly argued. Charlie sighed.

" Well, I only know most of the legend, not all of it. If you want more details, you're gonna have to ask an expert on Korean Culture." Scratch what they said about Charlie being a soft hearted guy! Charlie was a smart creature that didn't want to be killed! No wonder he was so determined not to confront Theo... oh... Oh no! " Will our baby brother be turned into a puppet too!" Grizz shouted. " I doubt it. The creature did tell you that he wanted Sunshine alive. I'm pretty sure it wouldn't lie about that. However," Charlie started to look really worried," I know Sunshine is a tough guy and all but... you guys need to find him and get him out of there fast. I'm worried about what kind of... mental strain this'll put on your brother's psychological health."

" What-" " Let's just say... Knowing that creature..."

" **Any guy could go crazy when facing the unknown**."

* * *

" So, what do you think of my collection? Pretty neat, huh?" To Ice bear, pretty neat would not be the correct words. Now, sick, twisted, and cruel... close enough.

Ice bear's stomach dropped at the site of the puppets. They were lined up on the shelves neatly, all wearing ragged, dirty clothes. And there were scores of them. Not 10 or 20, but more like 50, no maybe even 100 of them all crammed into a dark corner in the cave. All were bloody and misshapen, some more than others. The buzzing of flies pounded in Ice bear's ears, making him grit his teeth in desperation.

But the worst thing about all this... was the smell.

The left over flesh that seemed to just hang off of the doll's body was rotting. The odor was so strong that Ice bear truly believed that no matter how much you would clean it, the stench will still stay. It made his eyes water.

Yet, the thing that was strange to Ice bear, was how this all reminded him of some B rated horror movie that you could find anywhere. Heck, if someone recorded all of this and put it on the big screen, people wouldn't know the difference. It's not like a lot of people knew Ice bear personally. The only people that would actually acknowledge him would be his brothers, Chloe, and Charlie. And sometimes, not even they would pay much mind to him.

Normally, Ice bear wouldn't think too much of this. However, something dawned on him that very second. Something that made his heart stop. He could die here. Ice bear almost never thought about how his life would end. When he did, Ice bear was pretty sure this wasn't the first thing that came up.

" Hey, Icy. Are you listening?" Ice bear snapped his attention back to the creature. He looked at the puppets, then back to the creature. It saw this gesture. " Like I said before, you're not going to die here. Trust me, if I wanted to kill you, I would have done it the first day I met you." Ice bear looked up at him questionably. " Oh, Ice, you're smarter than that, take a guess." Ice bear felt confused. What-Then, everything made sense.

The bad dreams, the flashes of blue in the forest every once in a while, the feeling of someone watching him...Oh... oh. "... How long were you spying on us?" Ice bear asked quietly. The creature shrugged nonchalantly. " Few days, maybe a week or two. I lost count after 8 days." The creature kneeled down so he was eye level to Ice bear. " Now you get it, Icy? I know everything about you and your brothers. Granted, it took longer for me to understand you, but I think it was worth it." Never mind, add stalker to the mix and you have yourself a C rated movie. This is just getting better and better.

" What do you want with Ice bear," he croaked out. The creature's smirk grew into a deadly, sharp grin. He pointed a finger towards the puppets. " You see those puppets?" Ice bear nodded his head. " While I was spying on you bears, I realized that you had a certain... gift when it came to engineering." Ice bear nodded his head again, understanding what the creature wanted him to do. "... You want Ice bear to build something that'll help you control all of the dolls." " See, what did I tell you? You're a lot quicker than your brothers!" the creature said in a smug tone. Ice bear growled lowly at the comment.

" Don't worry Icy! It's not like you have to come up with a completely new thing-a-majig. I already have an idea for you. All you have to do is build what I ask for all of my dolls without question, and then I'll let you go," the creature said. " _I highly doubt that_ ," Ice bear thought. Vision cleared, Ice bear could finally get a look at his surroundings. Sans the dolls, it was a regular cave. A really huge cave. There seemed to be many rooms and corridors. " _This place was made to trap people here. If I ever want to get out, I'll need to gain it's trust first. Then, I'll have to memorize where the exit is. This could work... Hopefully_."

Ice bear had a solid plan, but there was something bugging him. He had to ask- " Why kidnap Ice bear?" " What?" " Why not kidnap an actual engineer?" The creature thought about Ice bear's words, but then said," Not a lot of people know you bears. So, not a lot of people will ask where you've disappeared to if you or your brothers ever went missing, compared to the questions that will rise of I kidnap an actual person." The creature shrugged. " Besides, you're more competent then those second-rate engineers. I can depend on you to get the work done."

Ice bear remained silent. The creature had a fair point. Standing straight, the creature brushed his clothes so they would appear less messy. " I'm going out to get you some supplies so you can get started. That being said, don't think that I'm going to let you off the hook the easily." The creature took Ice bear's foot and began to drag him to a nearby wall. Even though Ice bear felt a little better, his limbs still felt like jelly, so all he could do was lay back. Luckily, the wall wasn't far away. Leaning Ice bear against the wall, the creature began walking towards the room with dolls. When the creature came out, it had a pair of shackles and a long chain to compliment them. It walked over to Ice bear. " Okay, we can do this the easy way or the hard way, Icy. I can just shackle your leg to the wall and leave you room to walk around, or I can shackle both your arms and legs, and trust me, I'll be gone for a few hours at least. Now what's it gonna be?"

Ice bear sighed sadly and said," The first choice." As much as Ice bear didn't want to bend to this thing's will, he had no other plan. " Good choice," the creature responded. It quickly shackled Ice bear's leg to the wall. The chain was long enough for Ice bear to walk to the middle of the room, but other than that, he had almost no range of motion.

" See ya later, Icy!" Before the creature left, Ice bear called out," Don't call Ice bear Icy." " What? Would you prefer Snowball?" Ice bear frowned. "What should Ice bear call you? Theo?" The creature stopped in its tracks and said,"... I don't have a name." Then, it left.

* * *

 **Sagikkun: is my own creation.**


	7. Chapter 7

**-Chapter Seven-**

 _It's weird how everything is connected, isn't it?_

Chloe stood silently in front of the bears' door, wondering if she should knock or not. She came as fast as she could after the bears called her, knowing that it was an emergency. She thought that it would be just like the other times the bears called her. " _Chloe! Chloe! Get here as fast as you can! A new episode of Kiss Kiss Kittens came out,_ " Panda would yell, or," _Chloe! Ultimate. Wrestling. Championship. Extreme. Challenge. It's gonna be epic! Come on!_ "

Usually, she would then chuckle at the bears' antics and come over. Today, however, was a different case. And not in a good way.

 _-Flashback-_

It was a nice day outside, a perfect day to sit back, relax... and finally, **finally** finish this dreary project. When Chloe wanted to study or finish an important assignment for one of her classes, she loved to go to one of three places. First would be her house. Second would be the bear cave. And third would be the garden near the university. Well, if you could call it a garden.

It was a well known part of the university. There were many willows surrounding the area, making it nice and shady, and there were many different flowers. However, there was one thing about the garden that Chloe found interesting. It was actually created to replicate a certain Korean legend that her parents would tell her when she was about to go to sleep. A bedtime story. And like all stories, it began with "once upon a time".

Many years ago, there were two beings: a human, and a creature. The human was quiet and shy, but she was very beautiful. With hair and skin as white as snow, and with bright beautiful eyes, many people would say she was the very image of perfection. She was well known through the village, and she was kind to everyone, so it would only make sense that she would have many suitors.

Men came from all over just to see her and maybe, have a chance at her heart. As a beauty, she was most definitely the bluest rose there. Beautiful, elegant, and rare to find. Sadly, though as rare a beauty that she was, all roses had thorns. She was shy for a reason, and very mysterious. She didn't keep anyone close to her, not even her brothers and sister were kept close to her. She loved them very much, but she kept herself in a tight ball.

A person like her drew the attention of a creature. A dark creature it was... Well, doesn't help to ramble on and on about legends these days. Chloe, though she found the legend cute, didn't really believe them. Sure she loved to tell them, but she never thought magical creatures like those in stories ever existed. Call her a realist, but she didn't want to bring her hopes up like most girls her age do.

Anyways, to wrap things up, things happened and the creature made a garden for her. In the middle of the garden, there was a large plethora of flowers that took up the majority of the garden. Most were white and red. The white resembled the maiden's hair and soul. Chloe knew that the red resembled the man's part in the tale, but her mother never finished the story.

There were white Carnations, red Chrysanthemums, Daisies, Freesia, Forget-Me-Nots, Jasmines, Larkspurs, Orchids, Peonies, and red Tulips. Each were good things, most representing love and trust. Others representing purity and graciousness. Yes, the tale did end in "happily ever after". However, this isn't what Chloe believes. There were only two flowers in the ring that made her think otherwise. There were just two small, insignificant flowers, but they held a strong meaning.

In the middle of the ring of flowers, there was a Lavender and a Rhododendron. Lavender represented distrust, while Rhododendron told people to beware. Chloe wanted to ask the headmaster why the garden was created like that, but she was always too busy. After all, everyone has distrust in their lives. Maybe the flowers in the ring didn't have any meaning? Who knows?

The vibrations from her phone shook Chloe awake from her musings. She smiled and put the phone near her ear and said," Hey Grizz! What's up?" "... Chloe, we need you to come to the cave later today. It's an emergency." Chloe was surprised when she heard Grizz's melancholy tone. Usually, he would be excited to tell her something. But this sounded serious.

" Grizz, what's wrong?" " I can't tell you now. It would be better if I told you when you get to the cave." Chloe nodded her head. " Okay, do you want me to come over now?" " No, finish your work first, then come over. I'll call you again to, uh, check up on you." " O-okay... Grizz, are you sure you don't want to tell me anything?" " Don't worry Chloe. We'll tell you everything, but just not now. It's not safe."

Chloe was shocked at Grizz's choice of wording, but didn't get the chance to say anything about it. " See ya Chloe." " Gri-" He hung up.

 _-Few Hours Later-_

Chloe hesitated for a few seconds, but finally, she knocked on the door softly. Right away, Grizz opened the door and said," Chloe! Just in time! Come in!" Before she could get a word in, Grizz was already dragging her inside of the cave. Once they were inside, Chloe immediately began asking questions. " Guys, what's up? Did something happen?" She noticed something was missing. " Where's your brother?"

Both brothers stiffened slightly. "... You might need to sit down for this Chloe," Panda said softly. Chloe's eyes widened as she exclaimed," What happened you guys? Is he hurt? Please tell me that he's okay-" " Chloe, chill out! We need you to have a level head about this, 'kay?" Grizz asked, giving her a small, nervous smile.

Taking a deep breath, Chloe said," Okay. I'm listening."

- _10_ _Minutes Later_ -

" What! Why would that _thing_ want your little bro!" Chloe said, nearly screeching in anger. " Calm it, Chloe," Panda said. Chloe sighed in exasperation. " I'm sorry guys. I just can't believe- You guys are the nicest bears I know! I can't believe some-some... _dingle_ would try to _murder_ Panda to kidnap him! I mean, what freak would do something like that!"

" Apparently supernatural creatures who have a lot of spare time on their hands," Panda said. Grizz nodded in agreement. " Are you sure this is a mystical being that we're dealing with here? It could be an illusion or something," Chloe reasoned. Both Grizz and Panda shook their heads. " No way was that an illusion," Panda said. " A hologram maybe." " It looked too real. The way it shape-shifted was too clean."

" I... I just can't believe this," Chloe said sadly. Ice bear was her friend... the bears were the only friends that she felt really comfortable with. It was just... It was... unfair.

" Chloe, we need you in order to find our little bro," Panda said urgently. " Of course I'll help Panda, you don't need to ask twice. What do you want me to do?"

* * *

" Why is this happening?" Ranger Tabes quietly said to herself. It wasn't in her jurisdiction to get involved in murder cases. She was a park ranger, not a police officer. However, when something happens in _her_ park, well... There's going to be a problem. She looked at the pictures of the case files, a feeling of sadness and guilt filling her soul. Women, men, _children_ ripped to shreds in an angry rampage of some sorts.

Ranger Tabes may only be a park ranger, but there was one thing she already knew: No animal would do this. And that was a fact. No animal would be twisted enough to do this. She would never suspect her good friends, the bears. Thank god they called today. At least she knew they were safe. However, something was up with them. They requested her to come over, said that they needed her help. Very suspicious.

She promised that she'd might come over tomorrow, after all, this case was more important. Because of the sudden attacks, the park had to be closed down. A day has already passed, yet no sounds came from the woods. Also very suspicious... Maybe, it would be a good idea to pay the bears a visit. The bears might know about the vicious attacks on the human population. They do live in the same area as the attacks.

Feeling determination fill her soul, replacing the sadness and guilt, she walked outside, got in her car, and drove off towards the bears' cave.

* * *

Ice bear glared at the chain angrily. It seems that, no matter what he did, the chain wasn't about to break from the wall. " _This is why I should keep my ax with me at all times_ ," Ice bear thought. To no surprise of Ice bear, he began to get bored after just sitting down for 10 minutes doing nothing but jostle his chain. At first, Ice bear thought logically and started to walk around, trying to see if he could get farther than the chain allowed him, trying to see what each room looked like, _trying to not feel helpless._ However, the chain was extremely sturdy and it wouldn't allow Ice bear even a centimeter more of walking.

Soon, logic turned into frustration, and frustration turned into anger. That anger then making Ice bear attack his chain. " _And now, because of my utter_ _stupidity, I'm sore, tired, angry, and bored... Way to go me!_" he thought sarcastically. He looked down at his paws. They were already dirty due to being dragged all over the place, but now they were sore and covered in rust. His neck also hurts since Theo...the creature...that _abomination_ bit into it _._ Luckily _,_ it had already stopped bleeding, but his neck now felt sticky and uncomfortable. Then again, this whole situation was, at a minimum, uncomfortable.

Sighing, Ice bear sat back down and leaned against the cave walls, trying to distract himself. He wondered how Panda and Grizz were doing, if Panda was okay... if they even _missed_ him. Frowning at the thought, Ice decided to stop focusing on that. He knew his brothers loved him but... sometimes their actions made Ice bear think otherwise. Like that time when they chose Nom Nom... _Nom Nom_ over him... calling him a monster... the word that hurt. Even when he saved them, they still didn't apologize for their words.. for their actions... that honestly hurt Ice bear more than the word " monster" did.

Once Ice bear started, he couldn't stop thinking about all the bad things that happened. Slimy, dark, thoughts that would break through his barriers, make him believe things that he didn't want to believe. Those dark feelings that made Ice bear feel weak.

 _It made him hate himself more than he already did._

Why should he be surprised if his brothers **don't save him? It's not like they ever cared in the first place** \- " _Stop... Stop... saying things about your brothers_ ," Ice bear scolded. " _They love you very much and they_ _will never leave you. That incident with Nom Nom, you should have told them that their words hurt you. How would they know? It's not their fault... It's never their fault. Just calm down. You're going to get through this. This is just another crazy, stupid mess that you got yourself into. Like always, everything is going to be fine_ _in the end_. _It always is._ " Somehow, that didn't really reassure Ice bear that much.

With his head feeling heavy from all his thinking, Ice bear closed his weary eyes and started to drift asleep. After all, in his predicament, that's all he can do.

* * *

Now, with a job like Darrell's, you don't really expect something weird to happen every single day. Heck, probably not even in a month. He lived a pretty boring life with a pretty boring job. Yet, he couldn't really complain. His mundane life wasn't without some perks. He had a lot of free time to himself, he wasn't too stressed, and he was very happy. And now, he had the bears as his friends. They actually bailed him out of jail after explaining their situation... and with a thinly veiled threat from Ice bear. Yep, everything was going great... so where did that optimistic feeling that he always prided himself with disappear to.

" Okay, so you can custom make mouse pads right?" the young man asked. He was a young man in his late 20's. He had blond hair with purple and red dye on his bangs. He was pretty tall for a person, being about 6'4. He was pretty normal looking, only wearing a brown hoodie, a pair of faded jeans, and green sneakers. Right now, he had an excited look on his face. " Yeah, hey, not to be rude but, how old are you?" Darrell asked nervously. " I'm 29." " _Oh, so he's around Grizz's age,"_ Darrel thought. The young man seemed nice enough yet, there was an air of an intimidating aura that surrounded him.

Clearing his throat, Darrell responded," Yes, you can custom make as many mouse pads as you want." " How much for each mouse pad?" " $1.59. Since it's custom, I add an extra 20¢." " I'll take one." " What do you want it to say?" " I'm sorry that I hurt you." Darrell paused at that, but continued. It would be rude if he asked. Giving his costumer a small smile, he politely said," Okay, just wait here for a second." " Alright."

 _-One Second Later-_

" Okay, that will be $1.79." The young man handed him the money and took the mouse pad. Before he left, the man asked," Oh, I was wondering if there were any electronic stores around here." " Yeah, there's actually one just a couple blocks from here. To the left." " Thanks!" Darrell waved goodbye and shouted," Have a nice day Mr... um." Seeing Darrell's discomfort, the man chuckled a little. " It's Theo." " Nice name. See ya, Theo." And with that, Theo left his store. Just a few minutes after, a young child came through the door.

Darrell's smile widened as he greeted the ten-year-old. " Hey, you must be Chloe!" She smiled back and replied," And you're Darrell. Grizz told me about you. Thanks for helping them out. The bears can be such a handful sometimes." Chloe sighed at the thought. Darrell shrugged. " I don't know. I'd do anything for a friend. Speaking of which-" Darrell went to the back room and came back with three stacks of mouse pads. " Why do you guys need so many mouse pads?" " Well, the way Panda stated it-" Chloe cleared her voice and did her best Panda impersonation. " In order to get through a dingle like Nom Nom, we're going to have to literally beat some sense into him."

Darrell chuckled a bit at Chloe's impersonation. " And they're planning to do that with custom made mouse pads." " Yep." " To an internet famous koala." " You got it." Darrell scratched his head sheepishly. " Well, tell them that if they're worried about the price, it's on the house. After all, we're all family here." " Thanks Darrell." Chloe ran outside and came back in with a wagon. Seeing how the stack of mouse pads were about Chloe's height, Darrell helped her put them in the wagon. Once the mouse pads were secured, Darrell asked," It's a lot of mouse pads. Do you need me to wheel it to the bears' cave?" Chloe shook her head. " Naw, it's not that heavy." " Okay, have a nice day!"

Darrell turned around and started walking towards the back room to see if he could fix the copy machine, but he was then interrupted by Chloe. " Um, I was wondering if there were any electronic stores around here. I'm not really familiar with this part of the city and I need to pick some stuff up for ' The Plan' phase two." " There's one just a couple blocks from here. To the left." " Okay, thanks." Chloe started her way to the door with a wagon of mouse pads. Darrell laughed silently to himself. " You weren't the only person to ask me that. There was this guy name Theo who asked me the very same question." Chloe paused in her tracks. Darrell, oblivious to this, continued. " If you run into him, tell him I said hi, okay?" Silence. Darrell's smile slowly slid from his face. " Hey, are you okay." Chloe turned towards Darrell with a strained smile and nervously laughed. " Yeah, just blanked out for a sec, ha, tend to do that sometimes."

Darrell may not be the sharpest bow in the quiver, but that was the clearest lie he ever heard. " You sure you're okay?" Chloe nodded her head. " Yep. Um, see ya later Darrell." Chloe quickly walked out the door and literally ran towards the direction of the electronic store that Theo was going to. Darrell stared at the door, thinking about what just happened. The bears didn't really tell him what happened, only that they needed his help.

Darrell began walking to the backroom once again, still wondering if he could help his friends with their current troubles.

* * *

Chloe, if it was possible, literally flew towards the electronic store. The wagon wasn't a burden to her, since the mouse pads weren't that heavy to begin with, but it was still a pain to drag around. " _What am I doing?_ " Chloe thought. She knew that the bears didn't want her to get involved. She was surprised that they even let her help to begin with. What could she possibly gain by seeing Theo? It's not like she could follow him home. It's not like she could actually do anything productive if she met Theo. What was the point?

" _There's no logical way that I could help the bears by meeting Theo. Heck, I might be risking my own life doing this. But... I want to know what Theo looks like. What kind of person... monster would separate a family just for its own selfish purpose. _" As Chloe got closer and closer to the electronic store, another thought came to her mind. " _Funny thing is, curiosity killed the cat, right._ " She inwardly gulped at the thought. " _I hope my curiosity won't kill me_."

* * *

* **Happy Halloween** *


	8. Chapter 8

**-Chapter Eight-**

 _Knowing isn't always accepting, nor understanding. It is what it is:_

 _Knowledge_

It was just like the bears described him. Tall, lean, multi-colored hair, and casual. A perfect disguise. Chloe hid behind one of the many counters in the store as she spied on Theo, wondering what kind of man Theo was. He didn't look like a monster, but then again, true monsters try their best to hide their real identity. Theo was looking through the iPad section, probably trying to find the cheapest one. He already had a lot of stuff in his cart, mainly wires, remotes, and even an Arduino starter kit. " _How is he gonna pay for all this stuff_ ," Chloe pondered.

" Hey, little girl, you're not supposed to be here," a gravely voice stated. Chloe turned around and saw one of the workers staring at her tiredly. He was hunched over and his clothes were wrinkled. His hair was graying and had a tired expression on his face. Stuttering out an apology, Chloe got out from behind the counter and away from the tired man. " Got in trouble with the manager I see."

Hearing this voice, Chloe's heart felt like it stopped beating... just to continue its rhythm 10 times faster. She turned around once again to stand face to face with not a tired worker, but with the supposed young man that she has been spying on. Chloe, being 10 years old, was still pretty short for her age. She often cursed herself for being around 4 feet tall. Because of this, Chloe isn't usually intimidated by a lot of people, since she's already used to everyone being taller than her. If that's the case, then Theo was one of those rare exceptions.

" Uhh, I-I guess," Chloe replied lamely. Theo chuckled and kneeled down to her height. Chloe stepped backwards, instinct taking over her brain, telling her to run, as an automatic action to danger. This seemed to amuse Theo even more. " Ah, don't be scared. I promise I don't bite," Theo said playfully. " _Much_ ," Chloe thought bitterly. Gathering the little courage she had left, Chloe gave Theo a half smiled and said," Sorry. I don't mean to be skittish. It's just, I don't usually talk to strangers." "Smart girl." " _Why would say something like that_ _?_ " Chloe thought, feeling her courage deplete to dangerously low levels. Theo stood straight and gave her a pleasant smile. "Well, I better get going." Chloe nodded her head shakily. " Y-yeah, I should probably go to. Have a good day, sir." Chloe turned the other direction.

" Okay, see you later, Chloe." Chloe turned around so fast that she felt her head spin. " How did you know my-" There was no one behind her. With the speed and agility that would make Ice bear proud, Chloe quickly gathered her equipment and ran out of the store.

* * *

 _" Well, you're here early," a voice said. Ice bear groaned in pain and slowly opened his eyes. He was in the dream cave again. This time, however, the cave wasn't covered in blood, there was no screaming, there was just the girl. The little girl was in front of him, staring down at Ice curiously. Pulling himself in a sitting position, Ice gave the little girl a small smile. " It seems that Ice bear has been getting weaker as of late."_

 _The girl sighed and sat down next to him. " I know what you mean. I remember when I first arrived here. I used to be so full of life, strong, clean, but now," she gestured to herself," I'm the exact opposite of all those things." She saw the expression on his face and forced a weak smile to form on her lips. " Don't worry. I'm not going to cry again. There are worst things than being so dirty that your hair literally goes from brown to white."_

 _Ice looked surprised. " Your hair's white?" She frowned and said," Hey! You can't judge me. Look at your fur!" Ice looked down at himself. The girl was right. He wasn't nearly as dirty as her, but his fur, especially the fur on his leg area, was brown with mud and dirt. Ice lifted his head to look at the girls hair. Now he noticed the splotches of white in her brown hair, and how her eyes, now seeing them up close, were actually more of a grayish green color, instead of emerald green. For a second, maybe even less then that, their eyes met, and Ice bear swore he felt a connection reach the two of them._

 _The girl looked down when that second passed. " So, you wanted to give me a name?" she asked, eyes brightening to show her_ _excitement. Ice snapped out of his trance and nodded his head. " Ice bear wanted to call you Charlie." He originally wanted to call her that because in many ways, she did remind him of the Sasquatch that he called his friends. With her long, yet lean frame and her brown (now confirmed as white) hair. Plus she was barefooted. Her smile turned genuine. " It's been a while since I had an actual name. Thank you." She let out a silent yawn and leaned against Ice bear. " It was nice talking to you without getting interrupted. Can I ask you something?"_

 _Ice nodded his head. Her eyes began to close, but she was able to ask her question. " Can I call you Ice bear? No one calls you that... I don't... understand... why." She drifted off to sleep. Ice sat there for a while, thinking about her question. There was a reason why he didn't let anyone call him Ice bear. Yet, maybe this time, just this one time... "...Okay, Charlie."_

" Good dream?" Ice opened his eyes and saw Theo in front of him, kneeling down so he could meet Ice bear face to face. Ice bear immediately straightened, then collapsed on the ground once again. Theo frowned when he saw this. He took something out of his pocket and held it out to Ice bear. It was a medium sized pill. " Here, eat this. It will loosen your muscles just enough so you aren't so stiff." Ice glared at Theo suspiciously. Theo rolled his eyes and said," Look, it isn't dangerous or anything. Either you take this willingly, or I force you to eat this."

Ice bear thought about his options. While not taking the pill, he will be showing Theo his determination to not bend towards his will. However, it would be absolutely humiliating if Theo force fed him. Which will he have to give up? Pride or Power? ... Definitely pride. Ice lifted his paw slowly and took the pill from Theo's hand. He inspected the pill. It looked normal enough, and it didn't smell like anything either. Ice plopped the pill in his mouth. He forced himself to slowly chew it until it was a fine dust in his mouth. " _Just get this over with_ ," Ice thought bitterly as he slowly swallowed the smashed up pill.

Theo smile widened. " See, was that so hard?" " _Shut up_ ," Ice bear thought tiredly. Sadly, Ice bear couldn't voice his thoughts out loud. Theo got up and started walking towards the chain. " Since you've been a good boy, I've decided to let you off the chain. For now. After all, I don't have to worry about you causing mischief, since you're too _weak_ to do anything," Theo quipped. Ice bear threw Theo a hateful glance, but Theo simply brushed it off with a chuckle. " However," Theo's expression turned stony. " If you cause me any trouble or try to run away, I will simply drag you back here. And I **don't** like doing extra work or have my time wasted." Ice hesitated, but nodded nonetheless.

Theo's expression brightened. " Good." Theo walked out of the cave. A few seconds later, he came back with a cart full of stuff. " Here's the supplies that you will be working with." Theo dumped a bunch of equipment at his feet. There were interfaces, remotes, wires, and even some iPads. " _Must be an apple fan_ ," Ice thought. Ice bear picked up the remote to study it. " Your chain should extend all the way to the trophy room-" " Trophy room?" Ice bear asked. " Doll room, Icy, I meant doll room. However, since you don't have your chain on you right now, you don't have to worry about that."

Ice bear continued to fiddle with the equipment while Theo set his rules. " _Maybe I could use this equipment in order to escape. I can't use the iPads to contact someone. Theo would already suspect something like_ that. _What to do, what to do? Think!_ " Then, an idea came to Ice bear. " _What if I just pick the lock? At night, when Theo is hunting. He thinks I'm 'weak'. Maybe he won't suspect something like that._ _But I have to take something small so Theo won't notice_." Ice skimmed through the rummage when his eyes fell on a small orange screw driver. It was a flathead. " _Perfect_ ," he thought. Ice peeked up at Theo. Theo didn't seem to be paying him any attention. "-I expect you to be working at night as well. But, I know that you mortals need your rest and food, so I will be the one to provide you with such necessities-"

Ice bear quickly snatched up the screwdriver and hid it in his fur, near his underarm area. That's usually where he would hide food. After Grizz's hibernating episode, he started hiding food there more often, worried if his eldest brother wanted to try hibernating again. " _Grizz, Panda_." Ice felt his stomach sink, but then he shook it away. " _I can't let Theo get to me. Not when my brothers need me. After all, they said it themselves. They're basically incompetent without me._ " Smiling at the memory, Ice bear tucked the screwdriver closer to his body and turned his attention towards Theo once again.

* * *

" Thanks, Chloe!" Grizz said as Chloe gave him the wagon filled with mouse pads. Chloe looked down at the mouse pads skeptically. " Grizz, are you sure this plan would work?" " Of course it will, Chloe! No one can resist the convincing powers of a good mousepad!" " And how do you know this?" " Hey, it worked on a forgiving guy like Darrell, why wouldn't it work on an unforgiving koala like Nom Nom? Why do you ask? Do you doubt me?" Even though Grizz still looked energetic, his face drooped a little in uncertainty. Chloe frowned, but relented nonetheless. " It's not like I'm doubting your plan, Grizz. It's just that... I still can't believe that all of this is happening to us. To your bro. It's a lot to take in."

Grizz remained silent. " Look, I want to save him just as much as you do, but I'm still not sure what I can do to help. Maybe that's why I'm being skeptical," Chloe finished sadly. She felt her body sulk into herself, due to the stress of the day. She was scared of the fact that Theo knew who she was. And now, she just put her friend down. How could she do that? Especially now, when Grizz's emotional state was wavering between fragility and crumbling sturdiness. It felt as if the weight of the world was closing in on her. Seeing this, Grizz gave Chloe a small smile. " I understand, Chloe. Why don't you go home now and finish your work? You can come by tomorrow." Chloe smiled appreciatively and walked away, making sure to utter 'goodbye' on her way out.

When Grizz was sure that Chloe was gone, he allowed his smile to fade from his face. He looked up at the sky to see what time of day it was. Mid-afternoon, almost nighttime. Ice has been missing for almost a whole day. " _It seemed longer than that_ ," Grizz thought sadly. Grizz turned around and started heading back towards the cave with the wagon full of mouse pads tailing behind him slowly. There were things that, even in this situation, that Grizz couldn't help but be thankful for. Like how to wasn't winter, but spring. At least Grizz wouldn't have to worry about his baby brother freezing to death.

The second Grizz entered the cave, he plastered a wide grin on his face, trying his best to look optimistic. Ever since they were little, Grizz made it his job to always watch out for his brothers. When the bears found out that Grizz was the oldest, that feeling seemed to amplify. One of his duties of being the oldest bear was to always be optimistic, even when the situation was dire. Panda was sensitive, and even if Ice didn't show to much, could be just as sensitive as Panda, depending on the situation.

It was tiring, and on many occasions, Grizz wished he didn't have to pretend to be happy all the time. But, as Grizz grew older, he finally understood the cold truth of society. He and his brothers were different. Because of this, no matter what they did, they will never _truly_ be accepted by everyone. This thought made Grizz's steps falter slightly. Knowing a harsh truth, doesn't mean you have to understand it, or even accept it. However- " Hey, Grizz!" A voice snapped Grizz out of his thoughts and he turned towards Panda and Charlie.

There was food on the table... **_Good_** looking food at that. Grizz felt his stomach grumble and some drool leaked out of his mouth as it literally plummeted to the cave floor. It smelled _heavenly_. " ...How?" Grizz asked, gesturing widely towards the table. Panda smiled nervously as he rubbed his head. His gaze drifted to the ground in his shyness. " We know that you've been working hard all day. All of us have. So, Charlie and I took the liberty of ordering Thai takeout for us." Charlie stood up and guided Grizz towards the table. " We know that it ain't as good as SunShine's, but at least it's more than just edible," Charlie added as he pulled Grizz's chair out. Grizz sat down slowly and looked at all the food at the table. He saw his brother and his friend sit at the table, staring at Grizz expectantly.

After a few moments of silence, Grizz felt a wide smile break through his face. A **genuine** smile, for once, and felt his eyes start to dampen a bit. Society might not accept the bears, or even Charlie, but at least they had each other, and maybe, just maybe, that's all they ever needed. Grizz made sure to exclaim a loud 'thank you' as he and his friends started eating.

A knock rang through the house. The bears and Charlie stopped eating. Silence. Then another, and another, and another one again. Panda stood up and said," I'll see who it is." Panda walked around the table and looked through the peep hole. He gave a surprised 'eep' and leapt away from the door. Grizz and Charlie got up immediately. " What's wrong?" " Is it Theo?" Panda shook his head fearfully. " No! It's Ranger Tabes!"... Oh no.

* * *

*" 좋습니다, 엄마. 나는 지금 오고 있다 집으로… 나는 알고 있다. 좋습니다는, 당신을 역시 사랑한다. 안녕!" Chloe hung up her phone and heaved a sigh of relief. She was almost home. Today has been quite hectic. She looked up at the sky and saw that the sun was already beginning to set. It was getting late. " _I should walk faster. Don't want to stay after dark,"_ Chloe thought as she quickened her pace.

As she was walking, her eyes glazed over the other neighboring houses and saw a familiar looking flower. It was a Rhododendron, the flower that symbolizes warning. The Rhododendron itself was a very beautiful flower, with a nice smell to go along with that. Despite knowing this, Chloe still felt a pit of dread rise in her stomach. She quickened her pace even more. By now, Chloe was running back towards her house, the picture of the Rhododendron fresh in her mind.

" _I'm almost home. Just a little further. There's nothing to be afraid of, Chloe. Nothing at all-_ " Her thoughts were interrupted when she ran right into someone. She hit the floor, groaning in pain and her glasses askew on her face. Her books had fallen all around her, open and unorganized. The stranger that she ran into noticed this and started to organized the books for her.

Chloe gratefully took the books from the stranger's hands as she stood up. She fixed her glasses. " I'm sorry, sir. Next time I'll watch where I'm-" She froze. Those shoes looked awfully familiar. Her gaze continued to ascend. She saw the stranger's face. " Are you okay, Chloe? I saw you running," Theo asked with concern. Hearing Theo's words, Chloe forced herself to say something. " U-um... I'm okay. It's just that it's getting late is all." Theo looked relieved. " That's good to know." Then, his face broke out in a grin. " There's no need to be so scared! I used to come home late to. And when that happens-" Theo pulled out the Rhododendron and held it out for Chloe to take. "-I'd give my mom a flower."

Chloe stared at the flower that scared her so. She sighed sadly and took the flower from Theo's hands. As much as she just wanted to leave, she didn't want Theo to find an excuse to follow her home. It would be best just to get this over with. She opened her backpack and put the flower in. Before she could thank Theo, he was already walking away. " Have a good day, Chloe!" " ...You too."

Chloe continued her trek back home, that feeling of dread growing in her stomach with every step. The Rhododendron flower told others to beware. Others often listened to its warning. Why didn't she?

This was what Chloe contemplated as she finally made it home, a" symbol of warning still in her bag. Chloe never did get around to giving it to her mom. The warning was for Chloe, not for her mom, no matter how Theo worded it as.

" _He didn't look like a monster, but then again, true monsters try their best to hide their real identity."_

 _" Huh, didn't think that idea applied to flowers too_ ," Chloe thought bitterly as she trudged to her room, feeling her feet grow heavier with every step. A Rhododendron was never a good sign. And, the more Chloe thought about it, the more Chloe finally drew to the conclusion that the flower wasn't always a warning. Not in this case... Definitely not this time.

It was, however, always a threat.

* * *

* **All right, Mom. I am coming home now ... I know. Okay, I love you too. Bye!**

 **Also, the "bye" might actually mean hello if you translate it... sorry :)**


End file.
